Birefringence in time-dependent moving media

Electromagnetic wave propagation in one- and two-dimensional time-dependent moving media is investigated in this paper. We identify another origin of linear birefringence caused by the component of the flow perpendicular to the wave vector. Previously, birefringence is induced by applying external electric and magnetic fields to non-crystalline material. Here it is shown that the time-varying velocity field also contributes to such a phenomenon. Our results indicate that the parallel component, time-dependent or not, will not yield birefringence. Furthermore, the time-dependent flow also results in a frequency shift. One-dimensional simulation is conducted to demonstrate these effects. (paper)