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High-Order Perfect Absorption in the Absence of Exceptional Point

Huisheng Xu1, Luojia Wang2, Luqi Yuan2,*, and Liang Jin1,†

  • *Contact author: yuanluqi@sjtu.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: jinliang@nankai.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 136902 – Published 31 March, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/nkls-pgkf

Abstract

High-order perfect absorption of coherent input has recently attracted significant attention due to its broadband absorption capacity. However, the realization of a high-order perfect absorber relies on the exceptional point (EP) to coalesce the scattering zeros. Here, we present a general scattering framework and achieve the high-order perfect absorber in the absence of an EP. We consider the asynchronous coherent input, where a spatial delay introduces a momentum-dependent phase factor beyond the amplitude and phase control in synchronous coherent input. This new degree of freedom enables active control of the momentum-dependent output, effectively reshaping the absorption line shape necessary for the high-order perfect absorber. Remarkably, despite the absence of an EP, the proposed high-order perfect absorber exhibits significant response to the perturbations in the delay length. Our findings provide insights for the delay-induced momentum-sensitive interference phenomenon and offer a new route for wave control.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 136902– Published 31 March, 2026
  • Received 9 October 2025
  • Revised 16 January 2026
  • Accepted 11 March 2026
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