Related papers: Simulating the Action Principle in Optics
Throughout all years of study, students of physics are confronted with the question 'what exactly is light?' - a question that is impossible to answer correctly and, therefore, continuously discussed within the framework of models. Numerous…
Machine Learning algorithms are typically regarded as appropriate optimization schemes for minimizing risk functions that are constructed on the training set, which conveys statistical flavor to the corresponding learning problem. When the…
A series of thin layers of alternating refractive index is known to make a good optical mirror over certain bands of frequency. Such a device - often termed the Bragg reflector - is usually introduced to students within the first years of…
In this report, we present a new method for reconstructing N body initial conditions from a proscribed final density field. This method, Perturbative Least Action (PLA) is similar to traditional least action approaches, except that orbits…
Optics naturally provides us with some powerful mathematical operations. Here we experimentally demonstrate that during reflection or refraction at a single optical planar interface, the optical computing of spatial differentiation can be…
In the 17th and 18th centuries, several natural philosophers studied the phenomenon of refraction and attempted to obtain the Snell law from various assumptions. Lacking experimental data, it was generally believed that light travels faster…
Many concepts of physical optics can be visually illustrated on a relatively simple optical setup in a table-top format, not requiring any very specific equipment. Diffraction, interferences, speckle, image formation, Fourier optics,…
Modeling the wave nature of light and the propagation and diffraction of electromagnetic fields is crucial for the accurate simulation of many phenomena, yet wave simulations are significantly more computationally complex than classical…
In this paper, we present a redshift space reconstruction scheme which is analogous to and extends the Perturbative Least Action (PLA) method described by Goldberg & Spergel (2000). We first show that this scheme is effective in…
In this paper, a geometrical interpretation of light diffraction is given using an infinity of fluctuating geodesics that represent paths of least time in an homogeneous space. Without using the wave theory, we provide a geometrical…
The special theory of relativity teaches us that, although distinct inertial frames perceive the same dynamical laws, space and time intervals differ in value. We revisit the problem of time contraction using the paradigmatic model of a…
The interaction of light with short light pulses is relevant in optical traps, optical tweezers, and many other applications. The theoretical description of such polychromatic light-matter interaction is challenging, and more so when the…
Two well-known conceptual conundrums of quantum mechanics referred to as instantaneous action-at-a-distance and inseparable wave-particle character are tackled using the principle of least action. Since any measurement is an action, it is…
Recently, it has become evident that submodularity naturally captures widely occurring concepts in machine learning, signal processing and computer vision. Consequently, there is need for efficient optimization procedures for submodular…
Motivated by a problem from the 2023 International Physicists' Tournament, we investigate the formation of particular patterns when light passes through glass. Experimentally, we use various glass plates, registering each reflected and…
Strong interaction between the light field and an atom is often achieved with cavities. Recent experiments have used a different configuration: a propagating light field is strongly focused using a system of lenses, the atom being supposed…
Refraction at the interface between two materials is fundamental to the interaction of light with photonic devices and to the propagation of light through the atmosphere at large. Underpinning the traditional rules for the refraction of an…
Light dragging refers to the change in the path of light passing through a moving medium. This effect enables accurate detection of very slow speeds of light, which have prominent applications in state transfer, quantum gate operations, and…
A priority of physics instruction is to help students make the connection between the formulae they think they are required to memorize and the real world in which they interact every day. If you ask students to describe a situation in real…
For more than twenty years, Ray Tracing methods have continued to improve on both accuracy and computational time aspects. However, most state-of-the-art image-based ray tracers still rely on a description of the environment that only…