Exceptional contours and band structure design in parity-time symmetric photonic crystals

Abstract: We investigate the properties of multidimensional parity-time symmetric periodic systems whose non-Hermitian periodicity is an integer multiple of the underlying Hermitian system's periodicity. This creates a natural set of degeneracies which can undergo thresholdless $\mathcal{PT}$ transitions. We derive a $\mathbf{k} \cdot \mathbf{p}$ perturbation theory suited to the continuous eigenvalues of such systems in terms of the modes of the underlying Hermitian system. In photonic crystals, such thresholdless $\mathcal{PT}$ transitions are shown to yield significant control over the band structure of the system, and can result in all-angle supercollimation, a $\mathcal{PT}$-superprism effect, and unidirectional behavior.