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Seulong Kim

Publications and source records attributed to Seulong Kim.

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Symmetry classification of temporal reciprocity in time-varying electromagnetic media

Time-varying electromagnetic media exhibit rich nonstationary wave phenomena, but the symmetry governing reversal of arbitrary temporal modulation sequences has remained unclear. We show that, in lossless, spatially homogeneous media with identical initial and final states, the scattering matrices of ordered and reversed sequences are related by inverse--conjugation, independent of the number of stages. This yields a classification of temporal reciprocity in bi-isotropic media: isotropic and chiral media are channel-preserving, whereas Tellegen media are channel-exchanging despite Lorentz nonreciprocity. Deterministic time rewinding follows directly. Our results provide a framework for predicting and designing temporal scattering responses in photonic media.

physics.optics

Deterministic time rewinding of waves in time-varying media

Temporal modulation of material parameters offers unprecedented control over wave dynamics, enabling phenomena beyond the capabilities of static systems. Here we introduce and analyze a robust mechanism for time rewinding, whereby a temporally evolved wave is fully restored to its original state through a carefully engineered sequence of temporal modulations. In electromagnetic systems, time rewinding emerges from impedance-matched or anti-matched hierarchical bilayer structures with matched modulation durations, exploiting total transmission or reflection and reversed phase accumulation. In Dirac systems, it arises via complete interband transition driven by time-dependent vector potentials. Unlike time-reversal holography or quantum time mirrors, which produce wave echoes but only partial waveform recovery, our approach achieves deterministic and complete reconstruction of the entire wave state, including both amplitude and phase. Analytical conditions for robust amplitude and phase restoration are derived and validated through simulations of discrete and continuous modulations, demonstrating resilience to modulation complexity and temporal asymmetry. These findings establish a versatile platform for secure information retrieval, temporal cloaking, programmable metamaterials, and wave-based logic devices.

physics.optics

Disorder-enabled directional delocalization and wave steering in time-modulated Dirac materials

We demonstrate a disorder-enabled yet localization-immune directional transport channel in time-modulated Dirac systems subject to stochastic temporal variations of a vector potential. In a spatially uniform medium, random temporal modulation induces strong Anderson localization for generic propagation directions, whereas waves propagating parallel to the modulation axis remain perfectly delocalized. This behavior originates from the pseudospin structure of the Dirac equation, which enforces exact suppression of interband coupling for specific propagation directions, thereby eliminating disorder-induced backscattering. As a result, temporal disorder acts as a symmetry-selective angular filter, producing highly collimated transport withoutspatial structuring. Unlike conventional impedance matching-based transmission in clean time-varying media, this mechanism arises intrinsically from stochastic temporal modulation and remains robust across a wide range of disorder models. These findings establish temporal disorder as a resource for direction-selective wave control, enabling reconfigurable beam steering, adaptive filtering, and disorder-tolerant nanophotonic components such as temporal beam shapers. More broadly, this phenomenon represents a temporal analogue of disorder-induced delocalization channels known in spatially disordered systems and demonstrates that randomness, typically associated with localization and transport suppression, can instead isolate aperfectly transmitting channel through symmetry-selective dynamics.

physics.optics

Statistical regimes of electromagnetic wave propagation in randomly time-varying media

Wave propagation in time-varying media enables unique control of energy transport by breaking energy conservation through temporal modulation. Among the resulting phenomena, temporal disorder-random fluctuations in material parameters-can suppress propagation and induce localization, analogous to Anderson localization. However, the statistical nature of this process remains incompletely understood. We present a comprehensive analytical and numerical study of electromagnetic wave propagation in spatially uniform media with randomly time-varying permittivity. Using the invariant imbedding method, we derive exact moment equations and identify three distinct statistical regimes for initially unidirectional input: gamma-distributed energy at early times, negative exponential statistics at intermediate times, and a quasi-log-normal distribution at long times, distinct from the true log-normal. In contrast, symmetric bidirectional input yields genuine log-normal statistics across all time scales. These findings are validated using two complementary disorder models--delta-correlated Gaussian noise and piecewise-constant fluctuations--demonstrating that the observed statistics are robust and governed by input symmetry. Momentum conservation constrains the long-time behavior, linking the statistical outcome to the initial conditions. Our results establish a unified framework for understanding statistical wave dynamics in time-modulated systems and offer guiding principles for the design of dynamically tunable photonic and electromagnetic devices.

physics.optics

Spatial localization and diffusion of Dirac particles and waves induced by random temporal medium variations

Wave propagation in time-varying media has attracted significant attention for its innovative potential to control wave-matter interactions and to develop versatile active materials. While most research has focused on electromagnetic waves, studies on Dirac-type waves remain limited. In this work, we investigate temporal scattering in pseudospin-1/2 Dirac systems with random temporal mass variations. Using the invariant imbedding method, we derive exact expressions for temporal reflectance in both short- and long-time regimes. In the long-time limit, reflectance probabilities become uniformly distributed, and wave group velocities decay to zero, indicating spatial localization. Numerical simulations reveal that narrow wave pulses evolve into Gaussian shapes, with their centers localizing and their widths growing indefinitely due to diffusive behavior. This universal phenomenon is independent of the initial pulse profile and the statistical properties of the random mass. Our findings demonstrate that random temporal variations can induce insulating behavior in Dirac materials, offering potential applications in solid-state physics and optics.

cond-mat.dis-nn

Scaling behavior of the localization length for TE waves at critical incidence on short-range correlated stratified random media

We theoretically investigate the scaling behavior of the localization length for $s$-polarized electromagnetic waves incident at a critical angle on stratified random media with short-range correlated disorder. By employing the invariant embedding method, extended to waves in correlated random media, and utilizing the Shapiro-Loginov formula of differentiation, we accurately compute the localization length $ξ$ of $s$ waves incident obliquely on stratified random media that exhibit short-range correlated dichotomous randomness in the dielectric permittivity. The random component of the permittivity is characterized by the disorder strength parameter $σ^2$ and the disorder correlation length $l_c$. Away from the critical angle, $ξ$ depends on these parameters independently. However, precisely at the critical angle, we discover that for waves with wavenumber $k$, $kξ$ depends on the single parameter $kl_cσ^2$, satisfying a universal equation $kξ\approx 1.3717\left(kl_cσ^2\right)^{-1/3}$ across the entire range of parameter values. Additionally, we find that $ξ$ scales as $λ^{4/3}$ for the entire range of the wavelength $λ$, regardless of the values of $σ^2$ and $l_c$. We demonstrate that under sufficiently strong disorder, the scaling behavior of the localization length for all other incident angles converges to that for the critical incidence.

physics.optics

Propagation of Dirac waves through various temporal interfaces, slabs, and crystals

We investigate the influence of the temporal variations of various medium parameters on the propagation of Dirac-type waves in materials where the quasiparticles are described by a generalized version of the pseudospin-1/2 Dirac equation. Our considerations also include the propagation of electromagnetic waves in metamaterials with the Dirac-type dispersion. We focus on the variations of the scalar and vector potentials, mass, Fermi velocity, and tilt velocity describing the Dirac cone tilt. We derive the scattering coefficients associated with the temporal interfaces and slabs analytically and find that the temporal scattering is caused by the changes of the mass, Fermi velocity, and vector potential, but does not arise from the changes of the scalar potential and tilt velocity. We also explore the conditions under which the temporal Brewster effect and total interband transition occur and calculate the change in total wave energy. We examine bilayer Dirac temporal crystals where parameters switch between two different sets of values periodically and prove that these systems do not have momentum gaps. Finally, we assess the potential for observing these temporal scattering effects in experiments.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Giant overreflection of magnetohydrodynamic waves from inhomogeneous plasmas with nonuniform shear flows

We study theoretically mode conversion and resonant overreflection of magnetohydrodynamic waves in an inhomogeneous plane-stratified plasma in the presence of a nonuniform shear flow, using precise numerical calculations of the reflection and transmission coefficients and the field distributions based on the invariant imbedding method. The cases where the flow velocity and the external magnetic field are directed perpendicularly to the inhomogeneity direction and both the flow velocity and the plasma density vary arbitrarily along it are considered. When there is a shear flow, the wave frequency is modulated locally by the Doppler shift and resonant amplification and overreflection occur where the modulated frequency is negative and its absolute value matches the local Alfvén or slow frequency. For many different types of the density and flow velocity profiles, we find that, especially when the parameters are such that the incident waves are totally reflected, there arises a giant overreflection where the reflectance is much larger than 10 in a fairly broad range of the incident angles, the frequency, and the plasma $β$ and its maximum attains values larger than $10^5$. In a finite $β$ plasma, both incident fast and slow magnetosonic waves are found to cause strong overreflection and there appear multiple positions exhibiting both Alfvén and slow resonances inside the plasma. We explain the mechanism of overreflection in terms of the formation of inhomogeneous and open cavities close to the resonances and the strong enhancement of the wave energy due to the occurrence of semi-bound states there. We give discussions of the observational consequences in magnetized terrestrial and solar plasmas.

physics.plasm-ph

Mode conversion and resonant absorption in inhomogeneous materials with flat bands

Mode conversion of transverse electromagnetic waves into longitudinal oscillations and the associated resonant absorption of wave energy in inhomogeneous plasmas is a phenomenon that has been studied extensively in plasma physics. We show that precisely analogous phenomena occur generically in electronic and photonic systems where dispersionless flat bands and dispersive bands coexist in the presence of an inhomogeneous potential or medium parameter. We demonstrate that the systems described by the pseudospin-1 Dirac equation with two dispersive bands and one flat band display mode conversion and resonant absorption in a very similar manner to $p$-polarized electromagnetic waves in an unmagnetized plasma by calculating the mode conversion coefficient explicitly using the invariant imbedding method. We also show that a similar mode conversion process takes place in many other systems with a flat band such as pseudospin-2 Dirac systems, continuum models obtained for one-dimensional stub and sawtooth lattices, and two-dimensional electron systems with a quadratic band and a nearly flat band. We discuss some experimental implications of mode conversion in flat-band materials and metamaterials.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Mode conversion of extraordinary waves in stratified plasmas with an external magnetic field perpendicular to the directions of inhomogeneity and wave propagation

We study theoretically the mode conversion and the resonant absorption of high frequency electromagnetic waves into longitudinal modes in magnetized and stratified plasmas in the case where the external magnetic field is perpendicular to both the directions of inhomogeneity and wave propagation. Mode conversion is shown to occur only when the waves are extraordinary waves. We develop an efficient method for calculating the mode conversion coefficient for arbitrary spatial configurations of the plasma density and the external magnetic field in a numerically exact manner using the invariant imbedding method. We calculate the mode conversion coefficient extensively as a function of the incident angle, the external magnetic field, and the plasma density in the incident region. We show that there is strong asymmetry under the sign change of the incident angle and the external magnetic field and find that the mode conversion coefficient is close to one in certain ranges of the parameter values. We discuss the implications of our results in plasma heating phenomena.

physics.plasm-ph

Omnidirectional excitation of surface waves and super-Klein tunneling at the interface between two different bi-isotropic media

We study theoretically some unique characteristics of surface electromagnetic waves excited at the interface between two different kinds of general bi-isotropic media, which include Tellegen media and chiral media as special cases. We derive an analytical dispersion relation for those waves, using which we deduce eight different conditions under which they are generated between two Tellegen media and between two chiral media independently of the component of the wave vector along the interface. These make it possible to excite the surface waves for all or a wide range of incident angles in attenuated total reflection experiments on multilayer structures. We generalize the concept of a conjugate matched pair to bi-isotropic media and obtain several conditions under which the omnidirectional total transmission, which we call the super-Klein tunneling, occurs through conjugate matched pairs consisting of Tellegen media and of chiral media. We find that these conditions are closely linked to those for the omnidirectional excitation of surface waves. Using the invariant imbedding method, we perform extensive numerical calculations of the absorptance, the transmittance, and the spatial distribution of the electromagnetic fields for circularly-polarized waves incident on bilayer structures and confirm that the results agree perfectly with the analytical predictions.

physics.optics

Anderson localization of two-dimensional massless pseudospin-1 Dirac particles in a correlated random one-dimensional scalar potential

We study theoretically Anderson localization of two-dimensional massless pseudospin-1 Dirac particles in a random one-dimensional scalar potential. We focus explicitly on the effect of disorder correlations, considering a short-range correlated dichotomous random potential at all strengths of disorder. We also consider a $δ$-function correlated random potential at weak disorder. Using the invariant imbedding method, we calculate the localization length in a numerically precise way and analyze its dependencies on incident angle, disorder correlation length, disorder strength, energy, wavelength and average potential over a wide range of parameter values. In addition, we derive analytical formulas for the localization length, which are very accurate in the weak and strong disorder regimes. From the Dirac equation, we obtain an expression for the effective wave impedance, using which we explain several conditions for delocalization. We also deduce a condition under which the localization length vanishes. For all cases considered, the localization length depends non-monotonically on the disorder correlation length and diverges as $θ^{-4}$ as the incident angle $θ$ goes to zero. As the disorder strength is varied from zero to infinity, we find that there appear three different scaling regimes. As the energy or wavelength is varied from zero to infinity, there appear three or four different scaling regimes with different exponents, depending on the value of the average potential. The crossovers between different scaling regimes are explained in terms of the disorder correlation effect.

cond-mat.dis-nn

Anderson localization and Brewster anomaly of electromagnetic waves in randomly-stratified anisotropic media

Anderson localization of $p$-polarized waves and the Brewster anomaly phenomenon, which is the delocalization of $p$-polarized waves at a special incident angle, in randomly-stratified anisotropic media are studied theoretically for two different random models. In the first model, the random parts of the transverse and longitudinal components of the dielectric tensor, between which the longitudinal component is the one in the stratification direction, are assumed to be uncorrelated, while, in the second model, they are proportional to each other. We calculate the localization length in a precise way using the invariant imbedding method. From analytical considerations, we provide an interpretation of the Brewster anomaly as a phenomenon arising when the wave impedance is effectively uniform. Similarly, the ordinary Brewster effect is interpreted as an impedance matching phenomenon. We derive the existence condition for the Brewster anomaly and concise analytical expressions for the localization length, which are accurate in the weak disorder regime. We find that the Brewster anomaly can arise only when disorder is sufficiently weak and only in the second model with a positive ratio of the random parts. The incident angle at which the anomaly occurs depends sensitively on the ratio of the random parts and the average values of the tensor components. In the cases where the critical angle of total reflection exists, the angle at which the anomaly occurs can be either bigger or smaller than the critical angle. When the transverse and longitudinal components are uncorrelated, localization is dominated by the the transverse component at small incident angles. When only the longitudinal component is random, the localization length diverges as $θ^{-4}$ as the incident angle $θ$ goes to zero and is also argued to diverge for all $θ$ in the strong disorder limit.

physics.optics

Anderson localization and delocalization of massless two-dimensional Dirac electrons in random one-dimensional scalar and vector potentials

We study Anderson localization of massless Dirac electrons in two dimensions in one-dimensional random scalar and vector potentials theoretically for two different cases, in which the scalar and vector potentials are either uncorrelated or correlated. From the Dirac equation, we deduce the effective wave impedance, using which we derive the condition for total transmission and those for delocalization in our random models analytically. Based on the invariant imbedding theory, we also develop a numerical method to calculate the localization length exactly for arbitrary strengths of disorder. In addition, we derive analytical expressions for the localization length, which are extremely accurate in the weak and strong disorder limits. In the presence of both scalar and vector potentials, the conditions for total transmission and complete delocalization are generalized from the usual Klein tunneling case. We find that the incident angles at which electron waves are either completely transmitted or delocalized can be tuned to arbitrary values. When the strength of scalar potential disorder increases to infinity, the localization length also increases to infinity, both in uncorrelated and correlated cases. The detailed dependencies of the localization length on incident angle, disorder strength and energy are elucidated and the discrepancies with previous studies and some new results are discussed. All the results are explained intuitively using the concept of wave impedance.

cond-mat.dis-nn

Excitation of surface waves on the interfaces of general bi-isotropic media

We study theoretically the characteristics of surface waves excited at the interface between a metal and a general bi-isotropic medium, which includes isotropic chiral media and Tellegen media as special cases. We derive an analytical dispersion relation for surface waves, using which we calculate the effective index and the propagation length numerically. We also calculate the absorptance, the cross-polarized reflectance and the spatial distribution of the electromagnetic fields for plane waves incident on a bilayer system consisting of a metal layer and a bi-isotropic layer in the Kretschmann configuration, using the invariant imbedding method. The results obtained using the invariant imbedding method agree with those obtained from the dispersion relation perfectly. In the case of chiral media, the effective index is an increasing function of the chirality index, whereas in Tellegen media, it is a decreasing function of the Tellegen parameter. The propagation length for surface waves in both cases increase substantially as either the chirality index or the Tellegen parameter increases. In Tellegen media, it diverges to infinity when the effective index goes to zero, whereas in chiral media, it does when the parameters approach the cutoff values where quasi surface waves are excited. We investigate the characteristics of quasi surface waves excited when the chirality index is sufficiently large.

physics.optics

Invariant imbedding theory of wave propagation in arbitrarily inhomogeneous stratified bi-isotropic media

Bi-isotropic media, which include isotropic chiral media and Tellegen media as special cases, are the most general form of linear isotropic media where the electric displacement and the magnetic induction are related to both the electric field and the magnetic intensity. In inhomogeneous bi-isotropic media, electromagnetic waves of two different polarizations are coupled to each other. In this paper, we develop a generalized version of the invariant imbedding method for the study of wave propagation in arbitrarily-inhomogeneous stratified bi-isotropic media, which can be used to solve the coupled wave propagation problem accurately and efficiently. We verify the validity and usefulness of the method by applying it to several examples, including the wave propagation in a uniform chiral slab, the surface wave excitation in a bilayer system made of a layer of Tellegen medium and a metal layer, and the mode conversion of transverse electromagnetic waves into longitudinal plasma oscillations in inhomogeneous Tellegen media. In contrast to the case of ordinary isotropic media, we find that the surface wave excitation and the mode conversion occur for both s and p waves in bi-isotropic media.

physics.optics

Resonant absorption and amplification of circularly-polarized waves in inhomogeneous chiral media

It has been found that in the media where the dielectric permittivity $ε$ or the magnetic permeability $μ$ is near zero and in transition metamaterials where $ε$ or $μ$ changes from positive to negative values, there occur a strong absorption or amplification of the electromagnetic wave energy in the presence of an infinitesimally small damping or gain and a strong enhancement of the electromagnetic fields. We attribute these phenomena to the mode conversion of transverse electromagnetic waves into longitudinal plasma oscillations and its inverse process. In this paper, we study analogous phenomena occurring in chiral media theoretically using the invariant imbedding method. In uniform isotropic chiral media, right-circularly-polarized and left-circularly-polarized waves are the eigenmodes of propagation with different effective refractive indices $n_+$ and $n_-$, whereas in the chiral media with a nonuniform impedance variation, they are no longer the eigenmodes and are coupled to each other. We find that both in uniform chiral slabs where either $n_+$ or $n_-$ is near zero and in chiral transition metamaterials where $n_+$ or $n_-$ changes from positive to negative values, a strong absorption or amplification of circularly-polarized waves occurs in the presence of an infinitesimally small damping or gain. We present detailed calculations of the mode conversion coefficient, which measures the fraction of the electromagnetic wave energy absorbed into the medium, for various configurations of $ε$ and $μ$ with an emphasis on the influence of a nonuniform impedance. We propose possible applications of these phenomena to linear and nonlinear optical devices that react selectively to the helicity of the circular polarization.

physics.optics