Photon number conservation in time dependent systems [Invited]

Abstract

Time dependent systems in general do not conserve photons nor do they conserve energy. However when parity-time symmetry holds Maxwell’s equations can sometimes both conserve photon number and energy. Here we show that photon conservation is the more widely applicable law which can hold in circumstances where energy conservation is violated shedding further light on an amplification mechanism identified in previous papers as a process of conserved photons climbing a frequency ladder.