Related papers: Bending of light in axion backgrounds
We discuss spectral distortions, time delays and refraction of light in an axion or axion-plasma background. This involves solving the full set of geodesic equations associated to the system of Hamiltonian optics, allowing us to…
In this article, we present an overview of the new developments in problems of the plasma influence on the effects of gravitational lensing, complemented by pieces of new material and relevant discussions. Deflection of light in the…
Plasma lensing is the refraction of low-frequency electromagnetic rays due to free electrons in the interstellar medium. Although the phenomenon has a distinct similarity to gravitational lensing, particularly in its mathematical…
Reflection and refraction of light can be used to trap small dielectric particles in the geometrical optics regime. Absorption of light is usually neglected in theoretical calculations, but it is known that it occurs in the optical trapping…
In contrast to the converging, achromatic behaviour of axisymmetric gravitational lenses, diverging frequency-dependent lensing occurs from refraction due to a distribution of over-dense axisymmetric plasma along an observer's line of…
We consider the geometrical optics for refraction of a distant radio source by an interstellar plasma lens, with application to a lens with a Gaussian electron column density profile. The refractive properties of the lens are specified…
An exact formulation of the propagation of a monochromatic wave packet impinging upon a transparent, homogeneous, isotropic and parallel slab at oblique incidence is presented. Approximate formulas are derived for low divergence Gaussian…
Geometrical optics provides an instructive insight into Brownian motion, ``pushed" into a large-deviations regime by imposed constraints. Here we extend geometrical optics of Brownian motion by accounting for diffusion inhomogeneity in…
The basic laws of geometrical optics can be deduced from energy-momentum conservation for electromagnetic waves, without other wave concepts. However, the concept of quanta is required; it arises naturally, hence such a hypothesis could…
Analytical studies of light bending in a dispersive medium near compact objects, e.g., black holes or neutron stars, are most challenged by a suitable definition of the medium. The most realistic model would be a hot magnetized plasma. In…
The propagation of a light ray in thin layer (film) within geometrical optics is considered. It is assumed that the ray is captured inside the layer due to reflecting walls or total internal reflection (in the case of a dielectric layer).…
In this paper we introduce an optical approximation into the theory of impedance calculation, one valid in the limit of high frequencies. This approximation neglects diffraction effects in the radiation process, and is conceptually…
Light bending due to strong gravity has recently been invoked to explain variability and flux correlations between different bands in some accreting black holes. A characteristic feature of light bending is reflection-dominated spectra,…
New ray-optical elements allow generalized refraction of light rays, but geometry imposes limitations on possible mappings between the positions of an object and its geometric image. Here I study the case of an infinite, planar,…
Refraction is a well-known optical phenomenon that alters the direction of light waves propagating through matter. Microscopes, lenses and prisms based on refraction are indispensable tools for controlling the properties of light beams at…
Partially coherent light beams are encountered both in classical and in quantum optics. Their coherence properties generally depend on the correlation properties of their sources. In this paper, we propose a technique for controlling the…
Gamma-ray bursts categorically produce broadband afterglow emission, but in some cases, emission in the optical band is dimmer than expected based on the contemporaneously observed X-ray flux. This phenomenon, aptly dubbed "optical…
Many of the general-relativity-tests such as bending of light near a star and gravitational red/blue shift are explained without general-relativity and without Newtonian-approach. The author first casts doubts on both, the Newtonian and the…
A brief overview of the current state of the problem of electromagnetic field singularities arising from the refraction and scattering of light by material objects is given. The discussion begins with caustics arising from ray tracing in…
The quest to manipulate light propagation in ways not possible with natural media has driven the development of artificially structured metamaterials. One of the most striking effects is negative refraction, where the light beam deflects…