Fermat's principle with complex refractive indices and local light-ray rotation
Optics
2009-01-29 v2
Abstract
We describe local light-ray rotation in terms of complex refractive indices. We show that Fermat's principle holds, and we derive an extended Snell's law. The change in the angle of a light ray with respect to the normal to a refractive-index interface is described by the modulus of the refractive-index ratio, the rotation around the interface normal is described by the argument of the refractive-index ratio.
Cite
@article{arxiv.0809.4350,
title = {Fermat's principle with complex refractive indices and local light-ray rotation},
author = {Bhuvanesh Sundar and Alasdair C. Hamilton and Johannes Courtial},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0809.4350},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
3 pages, 2 figures