Asymmetric Band Diagrams in Photonic Crystals with a Spontaneous Nonreciprocal Response

Abstract: We study the propagation of electromagnetic waves in layered photonic crystals formed by materials with a spontaneous nonreciprocal response, such as Tellegen (axion) media or topological insulators. Surprisingly, it is proven that stratified Tellegen photonic crystals that break simultaneously the space inversion and time reversal symmetries have always symmetric dispersion diagrams. Interestingly, we show that by combining chiral and nonreciprocal materials the photonic band diagrams can exhibit a spectral asymmetry such that . Furthermore, it is demonstrated that in some conditions two juxtaposed Tellegen medium layers have an electromagnetic response analogous to that of a biased ferrite slab.