Wave morphing and flat-top ground states in photonics systems driven by artificial gauge fields

In quantum physics, classical optics, and many other wave systems, wave confinement in a potential well is associated with discrete oscillatory states, and the ground state is typically assumed to vanish uniformly. An open question is whether the ground state can counterintuitively support a flat-top, nonzero envelope, offering new opportunities for quantum emitters, optical antennas, and lasers. Here, we show that by applying the Byers-Yang theorem with an artificial gauge field, energy levels can be continuously shifted, driving eigenstates to morph into a ground state with a uniform yet nontrivial wave envelope. We implement this concept in a photonic crystal slab where a central bulk region is surrounded by heterogeneous bandgaps that engineer reflective phases acting as an artificial local gauge field. By inducing lasing, we probe directly the evolution of the energy levels, demonstrating wave morphing toward a flat-top ground state via near- and far-field measurements.