Wolf effect in the scattering of light by non-Hermitian materials
Wolf effect, scattering of light, statistical optics
A partially coherent polychromatic field was scattered by a PT-symmetric material. We described the scatterer by a gaussian sphere and, we observed the scattered radiation at the far-field. We analyzed this process under the formalism of classical coherence theory, assuming the validity of Born's approximation. Our results show that correlation-induced spectral changes are strongly dependent on the gain and loss properties of the material. For example, the center frequency of the spectral density of the scattered field shows a discontinuous behavior as a function of the non-hermitian parameter characterizing the properties of gain and loss of the material. This discontinuity is due to the introduction of the non-hermiticity to the system generates a root inside of the hermitian spectrum, creating an asymmetrical split in the spectrum. We also observed new scattering directions induced by gain and loss properties of the material who are forbidden in the Hermitian case.