Non-Hermitian Delocalization in a Two-Dimensional Photonic Quasicrystal

Theoretical and experimental studies suggest that both Hermitian and non-Hermitian quasicrystals show localization due to the fractal spectrum and to the transition to diffusive bands via exceptional points, respectively. Here, we present an experimental study of a dodecagonal photonic quasicrystal based on electromagnetically induced transparency in a Rb vapor cell. First, we observe the suppression of the wave packet expansion in the Hermitian case. We then discover a new regime, where increasing the non-Hermiticity leads to delocalization, demonstrating that the behavior in non-Hermitian quasicrystals is richer than previously thought.