Controlling strong electromagnetic fields at subwavelength scales

We investigate the optical response of two subwavelength grooves on a metallic screen, separated by a subwavelength distance. We show that the cavity, Fabry-Perot-like mode, already observed in one-dimensional periodic gratings and known for a single slit, splits into two resonances in our system: a symmetric mode with a small Q factor, and an antisymmetric one which leads to a much stronger field enhancement. This behavior results from the near-field coupling of the grooves. Moreover, the use of a second incident wave allows control of the localization of the photons in the groove of our choice, depending on the phase difference between the two incident waves. The system acts exactly as a subwavelength optical switch operated from far field.     

Stationary electromagnetic fields around a rotating black hole

The general stationary solution of Maxwell's equations in the Kerr background geometry is given. Future applications are outlined.     

Gravitational and electromagnetic fields near a de Sitter-like infinity

We present a characterization of general gravitational and electromagnetic fields near de Sitter-like conformal infinity which supplements the standard peeling behavior. This is based on an explicit evaluation of the dependence of the radiative component of the fields on the null direction from which infinity is approached. It is shown that the directional pattern of radiation has a universal character that is determined by the algebraic (Petrov) type of the spacetime. Specifically, the radiation field vanishes along directions opposite to principal null directions.     

Stationary electromagnetic fields around black holes. II. General solutions and the fields of some special sources near a Kerr black hole

The electromagnetic field of a general stationary source, occurring in the vicinity of a rotating (Kerr) black hole, is obtained by solving the Maxwell and Teukolsky equations. The field is expressed both outside and inside the radius at which the source is located. As examples the fields of point charges, charged rings, current loops, and magnetic dipoles not necessarily located in axisymmetric positions are calculated. The electromagnetic field occurring when a Kerr black hole is placed in an originally uniform magnetic field is derived without assuming the alignment of the direction of the magnetic field and the axis of symmetry of the black hole.We have recently learned that A. King from the University of Hamburg has independently found the vacuum solutions given in Section 2 of the present paper. His work will be published inMathematics Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. In another paper (to be published inLettere al Nuovo Cimento) he gives the fields of a stationary point charge and a stationary magnetic monopole.     

Nonreciprocal reflection of a subwavelength hole array

We present measurements of the wavelength-dependent reflectivity of a subwavelength metal hole array on a glass substrate. We compare the observed resonant structures with those found in transmission and note a nonreciprocity under illumination from the air versus the glass side. This can be used to verify on which interface the surface plasmons are resonantly excited and to estimate the losses in the subwavelength channels.     

Gibbons-Maeda黑洞附近中微子场的熵

从Gibbons-Maeda(G-M)时空背景下的线元出发,利用WKB近似,由自旋为1/2的中微子场方程求得径向波数pkr,在此基础上利用brick-wall方法计算了G-M黑洞附近中微子场的自由能和熵,并与标量场的熵作了比较,发现中微子场的主项熵是标量场的主项熵的7/8倍.     

Ultrafast response of surface electromagnetic waves in an aluminum film perforated with subwavelength hole arrays

The ultrafast dynamics of surface electromagnetic waves photogenerated on aluminum film perforated with subwavelength arrays of holes was studied in the visible spectral range by the technique of transient photomodulation with approximately 100 fs time resolution. We observed a pronounced blueshift of the resonant transmission band that reveals the important role of plasma attenuation in the optical response of nanohole arrays. The blueshift is inconsistent with plasmonic mechanism of extraordinary transmission and points to the crucial role of interference in the formation of transmission bands. The transient photomodulation spectra were successfully modeled within the Boltzmann equation approach for the electron-phonon relaxation dynamics, involving nonequilibrium hot electrons and quasiequilibrium phonons.     

Enhanced millimeter-wave transmission through subwavelength hole arrays

We explore, both experimentally and theoretically, the existence in the millimeter-wave range of the phenomenon of extraordinary light transmission through arrays of subwavelength holes. We have measured the transmission spectra of several samples made on aluminum wafers by use of an AB Millimetre quasi-optical vector network analyzer in the wavelength range 4.2-6.5 mm. Clear signals of the existence of resonant light transmission at wavelengths close to the period of the array appear in the spectra.     

Diffraction of stochastic electromagnetic fields by a hole in a thin film with real optical properties

The classical Kirchhoff theory of diffraction is extended to the case of real optical properties of a screen and its finite thickness. A spectral power density of diffracted electromagnetic fields by a hole in a thin film with real optical properties was calculated. The problem was solved by use of the vector Green theorems and related Green function of the boundary value problem. A spectral and spatial selectivity of the considered system was demonstrated. Diffracted patterns were calculated for the coherent and incoherent incident fields in case of holes array in a screen of perfect conductivity.     

Structure of electromagnetic fields near the surface of an ionic crystal

A NaCl ionic crystal whose (100) face is in contact with vacuum is used as an example to consider static and dynamic contributions to an electromagnetic field in close proximity to its surface. The expression for the potential of the electric field produced by a system of point charges in vacuum (derived by Lennard-Jones and Dent) is taken as the basis. The dynamic correction to the static field has been found. It appears as a result of thermal fluctuations of ions near equilibrium positions in the ionic lattice. Various contributions of the electrostatic field of the ionic lattice, the field of fluctuating ions of this lattice near their equilibrium positions, and of the dipole-type fluctuation field produced by spontaneous deformations of the crystal??s elementary cells to the energy density of the electromagnetic field near the surface of the ionic crystal have been calculated and compared. The periodic structuring of the electromagnetic field??s energy density caused by the presence of static and dynamic ionic lattices of the crystal at small distances from its surface is illustrated graphically. Fields generated by a film with a finite thickness containing an arbitrary number of ion monolayers have also been considered.     

String dynamics near a black hole

The dynamics of a string near a Kaluza-Klein black hole are studied. Solutions to the geodesic equations are obtained using the world sheet velocity of light as an expansion parameter. For a string falling into a magnetically charged black hole, it is shown that the compact dimension decreases with the world-sheet coordinate τ.     

Fermi hole near a metal surface

The canonical density matrix for a non-interacting electron gas bounded by a planar infinite barrier is calculated exactly by solving the Bloch equation for free particles. A closed expression describing the shape and size of the Fermi hole is thereby obtained.     

The influence of hole shape on enhancing transmission through subwavelength hole arrays

The extraordinary light transmission through a 200-nm thick gold film when passing through different subwavelength hole arrays is observed experimentally. The sample is fabricated by electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching system. A comparison between light transmissions shows that the hole shape changing from rectangular to diamond strongly affects the transmission intensity although both structures possess the same lattice constant of 600,nm. Moreover, the position of the transmission maximum undergoes a spectral red-shift of about 63,nm. Numerical simulations by using a transfer matrix method reproduce the observed transmission spectrum quite well.     

Extraordinary light transmission through a metal film perforated by a subwavelength hole array

It is shown that, depending on the incident wave frequency and the system geometry, the extraordinary transmission of light through a metal film perforated by an array of subwavelength holes can be described by one of the three mechanisms: the “transparency window” in the metal, excitation of the Fabry–Perot resonance of a collective mode produced by the hybridization of evanescence modes of the holes and surface plasmons, and excitation of a plasmon on the rear boundary of the film. The excitation of a plasmon resonance on the front boundary of the metal film does not make any substantial contribution to the transmission coefficient, although introduces a contribution to the reflection coefficient.     

Quantum transport of a single photon through a subwavelength hole by a single atom

The localization and transport of a photon through a subwavelength hole with the help of a neutral atom are studied. A method proposed and realized in the study is based on the absorption of a photon by a neutral atom directly in front of a subwavelength hole, the flight of the atom through the hole, and photon emission on the other side of the screen. The influence of the interaction of the excited atom flying through the subwavelength channel with the screen material is estimated. The estimate showed that the atomic excitation can be quenched in holes with diameters smaller than 200 nm, which affects the photon transport efficiency.     

Electrically tunable resonant terahertz transmission in subwavelength hole arrays

An actively enhanced resonant transmission in a plasmonic array of subwavelength holes is demonstrated by use of terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. By connecting this two-dimensional element into an electrical circuit, tunable resonance enhancement is observed in arrays made from good and relatively poor metals. The tunable feature is attributed to the nonlinear electric response of the periodic hole array film, which is confirmed by its voltage–current behavior. This finding could lead to a unique route to active plasmonic devices, such as tunable filters, spatial modulators, and integrated terahertz optoelectronic components.     

Theory of extraordinary optical transmission through subwavelength hole arrays

We present a fully three-dimensional theoretical study of the extraordinary transmission of light through subwavelength hole arrays in optically thick metal films. Good agreement is obtained with experimental data. An analytical minimal model is also developed, which conclusively shows that the enhancement of transmission is due to tunneling through surface plasmons formed on each metal-dielectric interface. Different regimes of tunneling (resonant through a "surface plasmon molecule," or sequential through two isolated surface plasmons) are found depending on the geometrical parameters defining the system.     

Vertical transport of subwavelength localized surface electromagnetic modes

Transport of subwavelength electromagnetic (EM) energy has been achieved through near‐field coupling of highly confined surface EM modes supported by plasmonic nanoparticles, in a configuration usually on a two‐dimensional (2D) substrate. Vertical transport of similar modes along the third dimension, on the other hand, can bring more flexibility in designs of functional photonic devices, but this phenomenon has not been observed in reality. In this paper, designer (or spoof) surface plasmon resonators (‘plasmonic meta‐atoms’) are stacked in the direction vertical to their individual planes in demonstrating vertical transport of subwavelength localized surface EM modes. The dispersion relation of this vertical transport is determined from coupled‐mode theory and is verified with a near‐field transmission spectrum and field mapping with a microwave near‐field scanning stage. This work extends the near‐field coupled resonator optical waveguide (CROW) theory into the vertical direction, and may find applications in novel three‐dimensional slow‐light structures, filters, and photonic circuits.

     

The energy-momentum tensor near a black hole

The energy-momentum tensor for a conformally invariant scalar field near a Schwarzschild black hole in thermal equilibrium with radiation is found by a combination of analytical and numerical techniques. Calculations are performed in the Euclidean section of the spacetime, and divergences isolated using the heat kernel expansion. It is found that the results agree well with those of Candelas [1], but that there are significant differences from the Gaussian approximation of Page [2].     

Interacting quantum fields around a black hole

If one studies interacting fields on a black hole background using ordinary Feynman diagrams, one is faced with a problem of what to do with lines that cross the horizon. To avoid this difficulty a formulation is developed which can be expressed graphically in terms of a new class of diagram with external lines only at infinity. This formalism is applied to study the question of whether spontaneously broken symmetry would be restored near the black hole. It is also used to show that a black hole can emit more particles than antiparticles even in theories where the particle number is locally conserved by a globalU(1) symmetry.