Phase time and transmission probability in the traversal of a PT-symmetric potential: The case of an electromagnetic waveguide

We study the unconventional transmission properties of a wave packet through a PT-symmetric potential region as describing the actual electromagnetic wave propagation along a waveguide filled with gain and loss media. The nontrivial behavior of the transmission probability manifests in the giant amplification of the incident electromagnetic signal of given wavelengths for well-defined configurations, depending on the gain/loss contrast. Maximum transmission peaks are related to spectral singularities and a strict correlation exists between the “resonant” wavelengths and the gain/loss contrast. The transit times are as well calculated, showing their surprising vanishing in the opaque barrier limit, independently of the gain/loss contrast, which is reminiscent of some sort of Hartman effect. Also, nonlocal effects manifest in the presence of negative delay times for given configurations, while a correlation is apparent between maximum delay times and transmission probability peaks, though appreciably depending on the gain/loss contrast.