Dr. Grazia Salerno
Rita Levi Montalcini Research Fellow
@University of Pisa
Rita Levi Montalcini Fellowship
This page contains all the news related to my Rita Levi Montalcini Fellowship at University of Pisa.
Topological phenomena of light are revolutionizing the field of photonics thanks to their broad and multifaceted features with interesting implications for fundamental science and technological applications. The ability to control and manipulate photons at the nanoscale through robust topological modes is a key feature for the development of compact nanophotonic devices, and the achievement of interacting states of light is a potential game changer for the protection of quantum information. In this project, I combine theoretical advance from nanophotonics and topological phases of matter towards the achievement of strongly interacting topological photons. By bringing topology to the nanoscale, I will explore subtle interplay between topological phases with light radiation, retardative damping and out-of- equilibrium effects peculiar of nanophotonics.
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A perspective on topological photonics in nanoscaled systems
Topology has become a powerful tool for controlling light and protecting photonic properties against imperfections. Most approaches in photonics have borrowed directly from condensed-matter analogies, but the nanoscale brings in subtleties that standard models often overlook: strong field confinement, nonlocality, and in particular the unavoidable leakage of light into the...
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Topological invariants and topological charges in photonics
Topology can come in two forms. One is global, describing bulk invariants that span entire energy bands, while the other is local, revealed as striking defects or vortices. In photonics, the former has been linked to quantum-Hall-like phenomena of near field light, while the latter to polarization vortices in the...
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Moving to Pisa
From May 2025, I have moved to the Department of Physics at the University of Pisa as a Rita Levi Montalcini researcher, continuing my work on topological phases in nanophotonics.
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New preprint about bulk and radiation topology in non-Hermitian systems
The properties of wavefunctions, such as the ones encoded in the Berry curvature, play a fundamental role in topological photonics. In open photonic systems, where light can radiate into the far field, an intriguing question arises: to what extent can the topology of bulk modes be inferred from the emitted...