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Optical quasisymmetry groups for meron lattices

Guangfeng Wang (王光丰)1,*, Juan Feng (冯娟)1,*, Tong Zheng (郑桐)1,2, Yijie Shen (申艺杰)3,4, Xianfeng Chen (陈险峰)1,5,6,†, and Bo Wang (王波)1,‡

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Contact author: xfchen@sjtu.edu.cn
  • ‡Contact author: wangbo89@sjtu.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 033226 – Published 25 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ls23-pcf9

Abstract

We report that optical quasisymmetry groups emerge from the commutation between mirror operation and spin-orbit interaction (SOI) of light. Contrary to the principle of symmetry inheritance in free-space optics—where the symmetry of any structured field is strictly constrained by that of its source—we show that strong SOI enables quasi-symmetry-protected formation of topological lattices even when the underlying optical sources violate the nominal rotational symmetry. By analyzing the Hermiticity of the electric-dipole radiation amplitude in a circular polarization basis, we derive an effective mirror operator acting only on a subset of C3 polarized dipole emitters, forming a quasisymmetry group that commutes with SOI. This quasisymmetry guarantees exact C3 merons and gives rise to a robust polarization zone within which continuously varying input polarizations generate identical topological textures. Our work establishes quasisymmetry as a fundamental principle in optical physics and opens pathways to engineered topological structures of light beyond conventional symmetry constraints.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 033226– Published 25 August, 2026
  • Received 12 January 2026
  • Accepted 29 July 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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