22 research outputs found
Higher-order effects and ultra-short solitons in left-handed metamaterials
Starting from Maxwell's equations, we use the reductive perturbation method
to derive a second-order and a third-order nonlinear Schroedinger equation,
describing ultra-short solitons in nonlinear left-handed metamaterials. We find
necessary conditions and derive exact bright and dark soliton solutions of
these equations for the electric and magnetic field envelopes.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. E in pres
Source amplitudes for active exterior cloaking
The active cloak comprises a discrete set of multipole sources that
destructively interfere with an incident time harmonic scalar wave to produce
zero total field over a finite spatial region. For a given number of sources
and their positions in two dimensions it is shown that the multipole amplitudes
can be expressed as infinite sums of the coefficients of the incident wave
decomposed into regular Bessel functions. The field generated by the active
sources vanishes in the infinite region exterior to a set of circles defined by
the relative positions of the sources. The results provide a direct solution to
the inverse problem of determining the source amplitudes. They also define a
broad class of non-radiating discrete sources.Comment: 21 pages, 17 figure
Ultrashort pulses and short-pulse equations in dimensions
In this paper, we derive and study two versions of the short pulse equation
(SPE) in dimensions. Using Maxwell's equations as a starting point, and
suitable Kramers-Kronig formulas for the permittivity and permeability of the
medium, which are relevant, e.g., to left-handed metamaterials and dielectric
slab waveguides, we employ a multiple scales technique to obtain the relevant
models. General properties of the resulting -dimensional SPEs, including
fundamental conservation laws, as well as the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian
structure and numerical simulations for one- and two-dimensional initial data,
are presented. Ultrashort 1D breathers appear to be fairly robust, while rather
general two-dimensional localized initial conditions are transformed into
quasi-one-dimensional dispersing waveforms
Summarising data and factors associated with COVID-19 related conspiracy theories in the first year of the pandemic: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.
Conspiracy theories can have particularly harmful effects by negatively shaping health-related behaviours. A significant number of COVID-19 specific conspiracy theories emerged in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic outbreak. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature on conspiracy theories related to COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic (2020), to identify their prevalence, their determinants and their public health consequences. A comprehensive literature search was carried out in PubMed and PsycINFO to detect all studies examining any conspiracy theory related to COVID-19 between January 1st 2020, and January 10th 2021. Forty-three studies were included with a total of 61,809 participants. Between 0.4 and 82.7% of participants agreed with at least one conspiracy belief. Certain sociodemographic factors (young age, female gender, being non-white, lower socioeconomic status), psychological aspects (pessimism, blaming others, anger) and other qualities (political conservatism, religiosity, mistrust in science and using social media as source of information) were associated with increased acceptance of conspiracy theories. Conspiracy beliefs led to harmful health-related behaviours and posed a serious public health threat. Large-scale collaborations between governments and healthcare organizations are needed to curb the spread of conspiracy theories and their adverse consequences
Vector solitons in nonlinear isotropic chiral metamaterials
Starting from the Maxwell equations, we used the reductive perturbation
method to derive a system of two coupled nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger (NLS)
equations for the two Beltrami components of the electromagnetic field
propagating along a fixed direction in an isotropic nonlinear chiral
metamaterial. With single-resonance Lorentz models for the permittivity and
permeability and a Condon model for the chirality parameter, in certain
spectral regimes, one of the two Beltrami components exhibits a negative real
refractive index when nonlinearity is ignored and the chirality parameter is
sufficiently large.We found that, inside such a spectral regime, there may
exist a subregime wherein the system of the NLS equations can be approximated
by the Manakov system. Bright-bright, dark-dark, and dark-bright vector
solitons can be formed in that spectral subregime.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figure