Polarization and Diffraction Peculiarities of Optical Media Possessing Simultaneously the Properties of Right and Left Substances

Abstract

With the simultaneous presence of positive and negative components both in the permittivity tensor ij and in the tensor of magnetic permeability μ ij , the propagation of an electromagnetic wave in optically homogeneous anisotropic media, and in periodically inhomogeneous media with a spiral structure is considered. It is shown that depending on polarization, such media exhibit the properties of both dextrorotatory and levorotatory substances. It is shown also that the medium with a spiral periodic structure may have the property of total diffraction reflection of the wave of any polarization. In the case of the presence of different signs of components of ij and μ ij in the spiral medium, it is revealed that two regions of diffraction reflection are formed, corresponding to the two waves with circular polarization with mutually opposite rotation of the polarization.

Fraunhofer diffraction by a slit between a vacuum and a non-magnetic medium with the magneto-optical Faraday effect

“…g cos  in (7) should be replaced by g sin  and we have 0 g d sin m (1 sin ).       (10) According to (10)…”

“…In our previous works, we considered the peculiarities of the diffraction pattern by a slit in a situation where there is not a vacuum behind the screen, as in the fundamental theory of diffraction [1][2][3][4], but a material medium. First, we analyzed the features of the diffraction pattern during the penetration of an electromagnetic wave into a medium with ε ≠ 1 through a round hole [5]. After that, in [6], we considered diffraction in a conventional anisotropic optically birefringent medium and showed that not one, but two series of maxima and minima are formed.…”

“…In work [10], we considered the diffraction and polarization features of helical media in the presence of different signs of the components of ε and showed that, depending on the polarization, such media exhibit the optical properties of both right-handed and left-handed substances. Recently, we analyzed the case of diffraction from the slit for the situation of radiation penetration into anisotropic media with an open surface of wave vectors, which also have extraordinary optical properties [11].…”