Transient chaos in optical metamaterials

Xuan Ni; Ying-Cheng Lai

doi:10.1063/1.3623436

Transient chaos in optical metamaterials

Xuan Ni, Ying-Cheng Lai

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

We investigate the dynamics of light rays in two classes of optical metamaterial systems: (1) time-dependent system with a volcano-shaped, inhomogeneous and isotropic refractive-index distribution, subject to external electromagnetic perturbations and (2) time-independent system consisting of three overlapping or non-overlapping refractive-index distributions. Utilizing a mechanical-optical analogy and coordinate transformation, the wave-propagation problem governed by the Maxwell's equations can be modeled by a set of ordinary differential equations for light rays. We find that transient chaotic dynamics, hyperbolic or nonhyperbolic, are common in optical metamaterial systems. Due to the analogy between light-ray dynamics in metamaterials and the motion of light in matter as described by general relativity, our results reinforce the recent idea that chaos in gravitational systems can be observed and studied in laboratory experiments.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	033116
Journal	Chaos
Volume	21
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3623436
State	Published - Jul 19 2011

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Mathematical Physics
General Physics and Astronomy
Applied Mathematics

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title = "Transient chaos in optical metamaterials",

abstract = "We investigate the dynamics of light rays in two classes of optical metamaterial systems: (1) time-dependent system with a volcano-shaped, inhomogeneous and isotropic refractive-index distribution, subject to external electromagnetic perturbations and (2) time-independent system consisting of three overlapping or non-overlapping refractive-index distributions. Utilizing a mechanical-optical analogy and coordinate transformation, the wave-propagation problem governed by the Maxwell's equations can be modeled by a set of ordinary differential equations for light rays. We find that transient chaotic dynamics, hyperbolic or nonhyperbolic, are common in optical metamaterial systems. Due to the analogy between light-ray dynamics in metamaterials and the motion of light in matter as described by general relativity, our results reinforce the recent idea that chaos in gravitational systems can be observed and studied in laboratory experiments.",

author = "Xuan Ni and Ying-Cheng Lai",

note = "Funding Information: We thank Dr. Vassilios Kovanis from Air Force Research Laboratory for suggesting to us to study nonlinear dynamics and chaos in optical metamaterials. We also thank Drs. Wenxu Wang and Liang Huang for valuable suggestions. This work was supported by AFOSR under Grant No. F9550-09-1-0260. ",

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AU - Ni, Xuan

AU - Lai, Ying-Cheng

N1 - Funding Information: We thank Dr. Vassilios Kovanis from Air Force Research Laboratory for suggesting to us to study nonlinear dynamics and chaos in optical metamaterials. We also thank Drs. Wenxu Wang and Liang Huang for valuable suggestions. This work was supported by AFOSR under Grant No. F9550-09-1-0260.

PY - 2011/7/19

Y1 - 2011/7/19

N2 - We investigate the dynamics of light rays in two classes of optical metamaterial systems: (1) time-dependent system with a volcano-shaped, inhomogeneous and isotropic refractive-index distribution, subject to external electromagnetic perturbations and (2) time-independent system consisting of three overlapping or non-overlapping refractive-index distributions. Utilizing a mechanical-optical analogy and coordinate transformation, the wave-propagation problem governed by the Maxwell's equations can be modeled by a set of ordinary differential equations for light rays. We find that transient chaotic dynamics, hyperbolic or nonhyperbolic, are common in optical metamaterial systems. Due to the analogy between light-ray dynamics in metamaterials and the motion of light in matter as described by general relativity, our results reinforce the recent idea that chaos in gravitational systems can be observed and studied in laboratory experiments.

AB - We investigate the dynamics of light rays in two classes of optical metamaterial systems: (1) time-dependent system with a volcano-shaped, inhomogeneous and isotropic refractive-index distribution, subject to external electromagnetic perturbations and (2) time-independent system consisting of three overlapping or non-overlapping refractive-index distributions. Utilizing a mechanical-optical analogy and coordinate transformation, the wave-propagation problem governed by the Maxwell's equations can be modeled by a set of ordinary differential equations for light rays. We find that transient chaotic dynamics, hyperbolic or nonhyperbolic, are common in optical metamaterial systems. Due to the analogy between light-ray dynamics in metamaterials and the motion of light in matter as described by general relativity, our results reinforce the recent idea that chaos in gravitational systems can be observed and studied in laboratory experiments.

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Transient chaos in optical metamaterials

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