What is the temporal analog of reflection and refraction of optical beams?

Journal Article · Wed Oct 28 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.183901· OSTI ID:1223342

Plansinis, B. W. ^[1]; Donaldson, W. R. ^[1]; Agrawal, G. P. ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Rochester, Rochester, NY (United States)

It is shown numerically and analytically that when an optical pulse approaches a moving temporal boundary across which the refractive index changes, it undergoes a temporal equivalent of reflection and refraction of optical beams at a spatial boundary. The main difference is that the role of angles is played by changes in the frequency. The frequency dependence of the dispersion of the material in which the pulse is propagating plays a fundamental role in determining the frequency shifts experienced by the reflected and refracted pulses. As a result, our analytic expressions for these frequency shifts allow us to find the condition under which an analog of total internal reflection may occur at the temporal boundary.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: NA0001944
• OSTI ID: 1223342
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1224573
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 115, Issue 18; ISSN 0031-9007
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS