Metric Signature Transitions in Optical Metamaterials

Igor Smolyaninov, University of Maryland - College Park
Evgenii Narimanov, Purdue University

Abstract

We demonstrate that the extraordinary waves in indefinite metamaterials experience an (- - + +) effective metric signature. During a metric signature change transition in such a metamaterial, a Minkowski space-time is created together with a large number of particles populating the space-time. Such metamaterial models provide a tabletop realization of metric signature change events suggested to occur in Bose-Einstein condensates and quantum gravity theories.

Discipline(s)

Engineering | Nanoscience and Nanotechnology