Published May 2010 | Version v1
Journal article

Geometric optics of Bloch waves in a chiral and dissipative medium

  • 1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164 (United States)
  • 2. Department of Physics, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712 (United States)

Description

We present a geometric optics theory for the transport of quantum particles (or classical waves) in a chiral and dissipative periodic crystal subject to slowly varying perturbations in space and time. Taking account of some properties of particles and media neglected in previous theory, we find important additional terms in the equations of motion of particles. The (energy) current density field, which traces the geometric optics rays, is not only governed by the Bloch band energy dispersion but also involves there additional fields. These are the angular momentum of the particle, the dissipation dipole density, and various geometric gauge fields in the extended phase space spanned by space time and its reciprocal, momentum, and frequency. For simplicity, the theory is presented using light propagation in photonic crystals.

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Physical Review. A
Journal Volume
81
Journal Issue
5
Journal Page Range
p. 053803-053803.5
ISSN
1050-2947
CODEN
PLRAAN

Optional Information

Notes
(c) 2010 The American Physical Society