1,925 research outputs found
Perfect imaging with geodesic waveguides
Transformation optics is used to prove that a spherical waveguide filled with
an isotropic material with radial refractive index n=1/r has radial polarized
modes (i.e. the electric field has only radial component) with the same perfect
focusing properties as the Maxwell Fish-Eye lens. The approximate version of
that device using a thin waveguide with a homogenous core paves the way to
experimentally prove perfect imaging in the Maxwell Fish Eye lens
How to measure the wave-function absolute squared of a moving particle by using mirrors
We consider a slow particle with wave function , moving
freely in some direction. A mirror is briefly switched on around a time and
its position is scanned. It is shown that the measured reflection probability
then allows the determination of . Experimentally
available atomic mirrors should make this method applicable to the
center-of-mass wave function of atoms with velocities in the cm/s range.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Quantum levitation by left-handed metamaterials
Left-handed metamaterials make perfect lenses that image classical
electromagnetic fields with significantly higher resolution than the
diffraction limit. Here we consider the quantum physics of such devices. We
show that the Casimir force of two conducting plates may turn from attraction
to repulsion if a perfect lens is sandwiched between them. For optical
left-handed metamaterials this repulsive force of the quantum vacuum may
levitate ultra-thin mirrors
Theory of a Slow-Light Catastrophe
In diffraction catastrophes such as the rainbow the wave nature of light
resolves ray singularities and draws delicate interference patterns. In quantum
catastrophes such as the black hole the quantum nature of light resolves wave
singularities and creates characteristic quantum effects related to Hawking
radiation. The paper describes the theory behind a recent proposal [U.
Leonhardt, arXiv:physics/0111058, Nature (in press)] to generate a quantum
catastrophe of slow light.Comment: Physical Review A (in press
Fermat's principle of least time in the presence of uniformly moving boundaries and media
The refraction of a light ray by a homogeneous, isotropic and non-dispersive
transparent material half-space in uniform rectilinear motion is investigated
theoretically. The approach is an amalgamation of the original Fermat's
principle and the fact that an isotropic optical medium at rest becomes
optically anisotropic in a frame where the medium is moving at a constant
velocity. Two cases of motion are considered: a) the material half-space is
moving parallel to the interface; b) the material half-space is moving
perpendicular to the interface. In each case, a detailed analysis of the
obtained refraction formula is provided, and in the latter case, an intriguing
backward refraction of light is noticed and thoroughly discussed. The results
confirm the validity of Fermat's principle when the optical media and the
boundaries between them are moving at relativistic speeds.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, RevTeX 4, comments welcome; V2: revised, Fig. 7
added; V3: several typos corrected, accepted for publication in European
Journal of Physics (online at: http://stacks.iop.org/EJP/28/933
Optical Aharonov-Bohm effect: an inverse hyperbolic problems approach
We describe the general setting for the optical Aharonov-Bohm effect based on
the inverse problem of the identification of the coefficients of the governing
hyperbolic equation by the boundary measurements. We interpret the inverse
problem result as a possibility in principle to detect the optical
Aharonov-Bohm effect by the boundary measurements.Comment: 34 pages. Minor changes, references adde
Comment on "Quantum Friction - Fact or Fiction?"
If quantum friction existed [J.B. Pendry, New J. Phys. 12, 033028 (2010)] an
unlimited amount of useful energy could be extracted from the quantum vacuum
and Lifshitz theory would fail. Both are unlikely to be true.Comment: Comment on J.B. Pendry, New J. Phys. 12, 033028 (2010
Light Rays at Optical Black Holes in Moving Media
Light experiences a non-uniformly moving medium as an effective gravitational
field, endowed with an effective metric tensor , being the refractive index and the
four-velocity of the medium. Leonhardt and Piwnicki [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 60},
4301 (1999)] argued that a flowing dielectric fluid of this kind can be used to
generate an 'optical black hole'. In the Leonhardt-Piwnicki model, only a
vortex flow was considered. It was later pointed out by Visser [Phys. Rev.
Lett. {\bf 85}, 5252 (2000)] that in order to form a proper optical black hole
containing an event horizon, it becomes necessary to add an inward radial
velocity component to the vortex flow. In the present paper we undertake this
task: we consider a full spiral flow, consisting of a vortex component plus a
radially infalling component. Light propagates in such a dielectric medium in a
way similar to that occurring around a rotating black hole. We calculate, and
show graphically, the effective potential versus the radial distance from the
vortex singularity, and show that the spiral flow can always capture light in
both a positive, and a negative, inverse impact parameter interval. The
existence of a genuine event horizon is found to depend on the strength of the
radial flow, relative to the strength of the azimuthal flow. A limitation of
our fluid model is that it is nondispersive.Comment: 30 pages, LaTeX, 4 ps figures. Expanded discussion especially in
section 6; 5 new references. Version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Characterization of quantum angular-momentum fluctuations via principal components
We elaborate an approach to quantum fluctuations of angular momentum based on
the diagonalization of the covariance matrix in two versions: real symmetric
and complex Hermitian. At difference with previous approaches this is SU(2)
invariant and avoids any difficulty caused by nontrivial commutators.
Meaningful uncertainty relations are derived which are nontrivial even for
vanishing mean angular momentum. We apply this approach to some relevant
states.Comment: 10 pages, Two column. New section II and some clarifying comment
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