Stuttgart 2012 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 34: Poster 1

Q 34.62: Poster

Tuesday, March 13, 2012, 16:30–19:00, Poster.I+II

Propagation of classical light through non-stationary but spatially homogeneous media — •Armen G. Hayrapetyan^1,2, Karen K. Grigoryan³, Babken V. Khachatryan³, Rubik G. Petrosyan³, and Stephan Fritzsche^4,5 — ¹Physikalisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany — ²Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Postfach 103980, D-69029 Heidelberg, Germany — ³Yerevan State University, 1 Alex Manoogian Str., 0025 Yerevan, Armenia — ⁴Department of Physics, P.O. Box 3000, Fin-90014 University of Oulu, Finland — ⁵GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, D-64291 Darmstadt, Germany

The propagation of light through a spatially homogeneous but non-stationary medium is explored within the framework of classical electrodynamics. For a non-absorbing medium, especially, a generalized wave equation is derived for the electric field in terms of the refractive index of the medium. A solution of this equation for finite transition period τ in terms of the hypergeometric function is determined for a phenomenologically realistic, sigmoidal change of the refractive index. Using this solution, it is shown that the energy of the light wave is not conserved, it either increases or decreases in dependence of the particular change of the refractive indexes. An interpretation of this wave phenomenon is given similar to the work by Feynman and Stueckelberg for the propagation of anti-particles. The reflection and transmission coefficients are analyzed especially for optical frequencies.