Hyperbolic shear polaritons (HShPs) emerge with widespread attention as a class of polariton modes with broken symmetry due to shear lattices. We find a mechanism of generating quasi-HShPs(q-HShPs). When utilizing vortex waves as excitation sources of hyperbolic materials without off-diagonal elements, q-HShPs will appear. In addition, these asymmetric q-HShPs can be recovered as symmetric modes away from the source, with a critical transition mode between the left-skewed and right-skewed q-HShPs, via tuning the magnitude of the off-diagonal imaginary component and controlling the topological charge of the vortex source. It is worth mentioning that we explore the influence of parity of topological charges on the field distribution and demonstrate these exotic phenomena from numerical and analytical perspectives. Our results will promote opportunities for both q-HShPs and vortex waves, widening the horizon for various hyperbolic materials based on vortex sources and offering a degree of freedom to control various kinds of polaritons.

The large-photon-number quantum state is a fundamental but nonresolved request for practical quantum information applications. We propose an N-photon state generation scheme that is feasible and scalable, using lithium niobate on insulator circuits. Such a scheme is based on the integration of a common building block called photon-number doubling unit (PDU) for deterministic single-photon parametric downconversion and upconversion. The PDU relies on a 10⁷-optical-quality-factor resonator and mW-level on-chip power, which is within the current fabrication and experimental limits. N-photon state generation schemes, with cluster and Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger state as examples, are shown for different quantum tasks.

Photonic and acoustic topological insulators exhibiting one-way transportation that is robust against defects and impurities are typically realized in coupled arrays of two-dimensional ring resonators. These systems have produced a series of applications, including optical isolators, delay lines, and lasers. However, the structures are complicated because an additional coupler ring between neighboring rings is needed to construct photonic pseudospin. A photonic anomalous Floquet topological insulator is proposed and experimentally demonstrated in the microwave regime. This improved design takes advantage of the efficient and backward coupling of negative-index media. The results contribute to the understanding of topological structures in metamaterials and point toward a unique direction for constructing useful topological photonic devices.