Incandescent temporal metamaterials
Abstract
Regarded as a promising alternative to spatially shaping matter, time-varying media can be seized to control and manipulate wave phenomena, including thermal radiation. Here, based upon the framework of macroscopic quantum electrodynamics, we elaborate a comprehensive quantum theoretical formulation that lies the basis for investigating thermal emission effects in time-modulated media. Our theory unveils new physics brought about by time-varying media: nontrivial correlations between thermal fluctuating currents at different frequencies and positions, thermal radiation overcoming the black-body spectrum, and quantum vacuum amplification effects at finite temperature. We illustrate how these features lead to striking phenomena and novel thermal emitters, specifically, showing that the time-modulation releases strong field fluctuations confined within epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) bodies, and that, in turn, it enables a narrowband (partially coherent) emission spanning the whole range of wavevectors, from near to far-field regimes.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2210.05565,
title = {Incandescent temporal metamaterials},
author = {J. Enrique Vázquez-Lozano and Iñigo Liberal},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2210.05565},
year = {2023}
}
Comments
Main text (11 pages, 5 figures) + Supplementary Information (32 pages)