Shape-Preserving Accelerating Electromagnetic Wave Packets in Curved Space

We present shape-preserving spatially accelerating electromagnetic wave packets in curved space: wave packets propagating along nongeodesic trajectories while periodically recovering their structure. These wave packets are solutions to the paraxial and nonparaxial wave equations in curved space. We...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. X 2014-03, Vol.4 (1), p.011038, Article 011038
Main Authors: Bekenstein, Rivka, Nemirovsky, Jonathan, Kaminer, Ido, Segev, Mordechai
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Black holes
Curved beams
Electromagnetic absorption
Electromagnetic radiation
Galaxies
Inertia
Interference
Lattice theory
Mathematical analysis
Maxwell's equations
Metamaterials
Nonlinearity
Optics
Relativity
Science fiction
Self-similarity
Shape effects
Spacetime
Theory of relativity
Three dimensional bodies
Trajectories
Wave equations
Wave packets
Wave propagation
Waveforms
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Summary:We present shape-preserving spatially accelerating electromagnetic wave packets in curved space: wave packets propagating along nongeodesic trajectories while periodically recovering their structure. These wave packets are solutions to the paraxial and nonparaxial wave equations in curved space. We analyze the dynamics of such beams propagating on surfaces of revolution, and find solutions that propagate along a variety of nongeodesic trajectories, with their intensity profile becoming narrower (or broader) in a scaled self-similar fashion. Such wave packets reflect the interplay between the curvature of space and interference effects. Finally, we extend this concept to nonlinear accelerating beams in curved space supported by the Kerr nonlinearity. Our study concentrates on optical settings, but the underlying concepts directly relate to general relativity.
ISSN:2160-3308
2160-3308
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevX.4.011038