Spontaneous isotropy breaking for vortices in nonlinear left-handed metamaterials
| Autor: | Trivko Kukolj, Mihailo Čubrović |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Physics
Isotropy Winding number FOS: Physical sciences Metamaterial 01 natural sciences Symmetry (physics) 010305 fluids & plasmas Vortex Condensed Matter - Other Condensed Matter Classical mechanics 0103 physical sciences Symmetry breaking 010306 general physics Topological quantum number Beam (structure) Optics (physics.optics) Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other) Physics - Optics |
| Popis: | We explore numerically and analytically the pattern formation and symmetry breaking of beams propagating through left-handed (negative) nonlinear metamaterials. When the input beam is a vortex with topological charge (winding number) $Q$, the initially circular (isotropic) beam acquires the symmetry of a polygon with $Q$, $2Q$ or $3Q$ sides, depending on the details of the response functions of the material. Within an effective field-theory model, this phenomenon turns out to be a case of spontaneous dynamical symmetry breaking described by a Landau-Ginzburg functional. Complex nonlinear dependence of the magnetic permittivity on the magnetic field of the beam plays a central role, as it introduces branch cuts in the mean-field solution, and permutations among different branches give rise to discrete symmetries of the patterns. By considering loop corrections in the effective Landau-Ginzburg field theory we obtain reasonably accurate predictions of the numerical results. 19 pages, 7 figures; this version: corrected typos, added discussion on the role of magnetic field and on experimental verification; journal reference added |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|