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Arbitrary fractional quantization in Dirac systems

Oscillations are ubiquitous wave phenomena in physical systems ranging from electromagnetic and acoustic to gravitational waves. The behavior of finite-size systems is traditionally understood to be governed by fundamental oscillatory modes arising from bulk physics and boundary conditions. A paradigmatic example is the particle-in-a-box model introduced with the advent of quantum mechanics, in which confinement leads to discrete resonances and quantized energy levels. Such quantization underpins phenomena including semiconductor quantum dots, where electronic waves are confined in all three spatial dimensions, producing standing-wave modes analogous to the vibrational states of a guitar string. These modes are characterized by integer quantum numbers corresponding to the number of envelope oscillations fitting within the cavity. Recently, counter-intuitive modes have been observed in finite systems with Dirac dispersion, including states that do not oscillate spatially, yet a general theoretical framework for modes in such cavities has been lacking. Here, we discover the phenomenon of arbitrary fractional quantization in wave physics and show that, in finite-size boxes with linear dispersion, the quantum number need not be an integer but can take any real value, including zero. Using Bloch theory in a Dirac-cone photonic crystal with a controllable fractional number of unit cells at its boundaries, we demonstrate continuous control of the cavity-mode envelope wavenumber. We introduce a unified nomenclature for these unconventional modes and derive their corresponding wavefunctions. These counter-intuitive states in open Dirac potentials challenge conventional notions of quantization and open new avenues across wave physics.