Non-Hermitian spectral changes in the scattering of partially coherent radiation by periodic structures

The physical aspects of partially coherent radiation interacting with deterministic non-Hermitian periodic materials remain largely unexplored in the statistical optics literature. Here, we consider the scattering of partially coherent radiation by a deterministic periodic medium, symmetric under the simultaneous transformations of parity inversion and time reversal, that is, a parity-time (PT)-symmetric periodic medium. Taking into account light fluctuations, one is able to describe the spectrum changes on propagation and the influence of the coherence-driven angular divergence effect. The far-field spectral density profile is found to depend crucially on the loss/gain properties of the material, giving rise to unexpected and contrasting spectral diffraction profiles when compared to the Hermitian ones.