arXiv subjects

Stefan Enoch

Publications and source records attributed to Stefan Enoch.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Anomalous Reflection From Hyperbolic Media

Despite the apparent simplicity, the problem of refraction of electromagnetic waves at the planar interface between two media has an incredibly rich spectrum of unusual phenomena. An example is the paradox that occurs when an electromagnetic wave is incident on the interface between a hyperbolic medium and an isotropic dielectric. At certain orientations of the optical axis of the hyperbolic medium relative to the interface, the reflected and transmitted waves are completely absent. In this paper, we formulate the aforementioned paradox and present its resolution by introduction of infinitesimal losses in a hyperbolic medium. We show that the reflected wave exists, but became extremely decaying as the loss parameter tends to zero. As a consequence, all the energy scattered into the reflected channel is absorbed at the interface. We support our reasoning with analytical calculations, numerical simulations, and an experiment with self-complementary metasurfaces in the microwave region. In addition to the great fundamental interest, this paradox resolution discovers a plethora of applications for the reflectors, refractors, absorbers, lenses, antennas, camouflage and holography applications.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Broadband terahertz near-field excitation and detection of silicon photonic crystal modes

Chip-based terahertz (THz) devices are emerging as versatile tools for manipulating mm-wave frequencies in the context of integrated high-speed communication technologies for potential sixth-generation (6G) wireless applications. The characterization of THz devices is typically performed using far-field techniques that provide limited information about the underlying physical mechanisms producing them. As the library of chip-based functionalities expands, e.g., for tailoring the emission and directional propagation properties of THz antennas and waveguides, novel characterization techniques will likely be beneficial for observing subtle effects that are sensitive to a device's structural parameters. Here we present near-field measurements showing the emission properties of a broadband THz emitter placed in the vicinity of a photonic crystal (PHC) slab. These experiments reveal long-predicted emission properties, but which to our knowledge have yet to be experimentally observed at THz frequencies. We demonstrate three distinct effects between 0.3-0.5 THz: (i) field suppression at frequencies corresponding to quasi-TE bandgaps (ii) a frequency-dependent directed emission along two distinct pathways for two neighboring frequencies, resulting in a local field concentration; (iii) a re-direction of the emission, achieved by rotating the PHC with respect to the dipole orientation. Simulations reveal that the observed behavior can be predicted from the underlying band structure. Our results highlight the opportunities that PHCs can potentially provide for alignment-free, chip-based 6G technologies. Our experimental technique extends the applicability realms of THz spectroscopy and will find use for characterizing the THz modes supported by true samples, whose inherent imperfections cannot realistically be accounted for by simulations, particularly in highly dispersive frequency bands.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Neolithic stone settlements as locally resonant metasurfaces

We study the dynamic surface response of neolithic stone settlements obtained with seismic ambient noise techniques near the city of Carnac in French Brittany. Surprisingly, we find that menhirs (neolithic human size standing alone granite stones) with an aspect ratio between 1 and 2 periodically arranged atop a thin layer of sandy soil laid on a granite bedrock, exhibit fundamental resonances in the range of 10 to 25 Hz. We propose an analogic Kelvin-Voigt viscoelastic model that explains the origin of such low frequency resonances. We further explore low frequency filtering effect with full wave finite element simulations. Our numerical results confirm the bending nature of fundamental resonances of the menhirs and further suggest additional resonances of rotational and longitudinal nature in the frequency range 25 to 50 Hz. Our study thus paves the way for large scale seismic metasurfaces consisting of granite stones periodically arranged atop a thin layer of regolith over a bedrock, for ground vibration mitigation in earthquake engineering.

physics.geo-ph↗

arXiv2020

On the possibility of seismic rogue waves in very soft soils

Liquid wave studies have shown that under certain constructive interference conditions, an abnormal size wave could be generated at a specific point. This type of wave, described long ago in the literature, was named 'Draupner Wave' in 1995. It was the first rogue wave, more than ten meters high, to be detected by a measuring instrument, occurring at the Draupner platform in the North Sea off the coast of Norway. For very soft and thick soils in continental sedimentary basin, with high water content, low shear wave velocity and wave bouncing effects on the edges of the basin, one can question the theoretical existence of such a type of freak waves that may have come unnoticed amongst surface seismic waves. This short communication presents recent observations and the conditions and limits of the analogy between gravity and seismic waves.

physics.geo-ph↗

arXiv2019

Photosensitive chalcogenide metasurfaces supporting bound states in the continuum

We study, both theoretically and experimentally, tunable metasurfaces supporting sharp Fano-resonances inspired by optical bound states in the continuum. We explore the use of arsenic trisulfide (a photosensitive chalcogenide glass) having optical properties which can be finely tuned by light absorption at the post-fabrication stage. We select the resonant wavelength of the metasurface corresponding to the energy below the arsenic trisulfide bandgap, and experimentally control the resonance spectral position via exposure to the light of energies above the bandgap.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2019

Seismic wave shield using cubic arrays of split-ball resonators

Metre size inertial resonators located in the ground have been theoretically shown to interact with a seismic wave (attenuation, band gaps) to enable protection of surface structures such as buildings. The challenge for Civil Engineering is to both reduce the size of these resonators and to increase their efficiency. Here we explore steel spheres, connected to a concrete bulk medium, either by a coating of rubber, or rubber and steel ligaments, or air and steel ligaments. We show that for a cubic lattice periodicity of 1 metre, we achieve stop bands in the frequency range 14 to 20 Hz; by splitting spheres in 2 and 8 pieces, we tune down the stop bands frequencies and further increase their bandwidth. We thus demonstrate we are able to provide a variety of inertial resonators with stop bands below 10 Hz i.e., in the frequency range of interest for earthquake engineering.

physics.class-ph↗

arXiv2019

Role of nanophotonics in the birth of seismic megastructures

The discovery of photonic crystals thirty years ago, in conjunction with research advances in plasmonics and metamaterials, has inspired the concept of decameter scale metasurfaces, coined seismic metamaterials, for an enhanced control of surface (Love and Rayleigh) and bulk (shear and pressure) elastodynamic waves. The powerful mathematical tools of coordinate transforms, effective medium and Floquet-Bloch theories, which have revolutionized nanophotonics, can be translated in the language of civil engineering and geophysics. Experiments on seismic metamaterials made of buried elements in the soil demonstrate that the fore mentioned tools make possible a novel description of complex phenomena of soil-structure interaction during a seismic disturbance. But the concepts are already moving to more futuristic concepts and the same notions developed for structured soils are now used to examine the effects of buildings viewed as above surface resonators in megastructures such as metacities. But this perspective of the future should not make us forget the heritage of the ancient peoples. Indeed, we finally point out the striking similarity between an invisibility cloak design and the architecture of some ancient megastructures as antique Gallo-Roman theaters and amphitheatres.

physics.geo-ph↗

arXiv2019

The influence of building interactions on seismic and elastic surface waves

We outline some recent research advances on the control of elastic waves in thin and thick plates, that have occurred since the large scale experiment [Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 133901, 2014] that demonstrated significant interaction of surface seismic waves with holes structuring sedimentary soils at the meter scale. We further investigate the seismic wave trajectories in soils structured with buildings. A significant substitution of soils by inclusions, acting as foundations, raises the question of the effective dynamic properties of these structured soils. Buildings, in the case of perfect elastic conditions for both soil and buildings, are shown to interact and strongly influence elastic surface waves; such site-city seismic interactions were pointed out in [Bulletin of Seismological Society of America 92, 794-811, 2002], and we investigate a variety of scenarios to illustrate the variety of behaviours possible.

physics.class-ph↗

arXiv2019

Direct imaging of the energy transfer enhancement between two dipoles in a photonic cavity

Photonic cavities are gathering a large interest to enhance the energy transfer between two dipoles, with far-reaching consequences for applications in photovoltaics, lighting sources and molecular biosensing. However, experimental difficulties in controlling the dipoles' positions, orientations and spectra have limited the earlier work in the visible part of the spectrum, and have led to inconsistent results. Here, we directly map the energy transfer of microwaves between two dipoles inside a resonant half-wavelength cavity with ultrahigh control in space and frequency. Our approach extends Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) theory to microwave frequencies, and bridges the gap between the descriptions of FRET using quantum electrodynamics and microwave engineering. Beyond the conceptual interest, we show how this approach can be used to optimize the design of photonic cavities to enhance dipole-dipole interactions and FRET.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Experimental evidence of auxetic features in seismic metamaterials: Ellipticity of seismic Rayleigh waves for subsurface architectured ground with holes

Structured soils with regular meshes of metric size holes implemented in first ten meters of the ground have been theoretically and experimentally tested under seismic disturbance this last decade. Structured soils with rigid inclusions embedded in a substratum have been also recently developed. The influence of these inclusions in the ground can be characterized in different ways: redistribution of energy within the network with focusing effects for seismic metamaterials, wave reflection, frequency filtering, reduction of the amplitude of seismic signal energy, etc. Here we first provide some time-domain analysis of the flat lens effect in conjunction with some form of external cloaking of Rayleigh waves and then we experimentally show the effect of a finite mesh of cylindrical holes on the ellipticity of the surface Rayleigh waves at the level of the Earth's surface. Orbital diagrams in time domain are drawn for the surface particle's velocity in vertical (x,z) and horizontal (x,y) planes. These results enable us to observe that the mesh of holes locally creates a tilt of the axes of the ellipse and changes the direction of particle movement. Interestingly, changes of Rayleigh waves ellipticity can be interpreted as changes of an effective Poisson ratio. However, the proximity of the source is also important to explain the shape of the ellipses. We analyze these observations in terms of wave mode conversions inside the mesh and we propose to broaden the discussion on the complexity of seismic wave phenomena in structured soils such as soils foundations and on the coupling effects specific to the soil-structure interaction.

physics.geo-ph↗

arXiv2017

Low frequency acoustic stop bands in cubic arrays of thick spherical shells with holes

We analyse the propagation of pressure waves within a fluid filled with a three-dimensional array of rigid coated spheres (shells). We first draw band diagrams for corresponding Floquet-Bloch waves. We then dig a channel terminated by a cavity within each rigid shell and observe the appearance of a low frequency stop band. The underlying mechanism is that each holey shell now acts as a Helmholtz resonator supporting a low frequency localized mode: Upon resonance, pressure waves propagate with fast oscillations in the thin water channel drilled in each shell and are localized in each fluid filled inner cavity. The array of fluid filled shells is approximated by a simple mechanical model of springs and masses allowing for asymptotic estimates of the low frequency stop band. We finally propose a realistic design of periodic macrocell with a large defect surrounded by 26 resonators connected by thin straight rigid wires, which supports a localized mode in the low frequency stop band.

physics.class-ph↗

arXiv2017

Emergence of Seismic Metamaterials: Current State and Future Perspectives

Following the advent of electromagnetic metamaterials at the turn of the century, researchers working in other areas of wave physics have translated concepts of electromagnetic metamaterials to acoustics, elastodynamics, as well as to heat, mass and light diffusion processes. In elastodynamics, seismic metamaterials have emerged in the last decade for soft soils structured at the meter scale, and have been tested thanks to full-scale experiments on holey soils five years ago. Born in the soil, seismic metamaterials grow simultaneously on the field of tuned-resonators buried in the soil, around building's foundations or near the soil-structure's interface, and on the field of above-surface resonators. In this perspective article, we quickly recall some research advances made in all these types of seismic metamaterials and we further dress an inventory of which material parameters can be achieved and which cannot, notably from the effective medium theory perspective. We finally envision perspectives on future developments of large scale auxetic metamaterials for building's foundations, forests of trees for seismic protection and metamaterial-like transformed urbanism at the city scale.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2017

Polarizability Expressions for Predicting Resonances in Plasmonic and Mie Scatterers

Polarizability expressions are commonly used in optics and photonics to model the light scattering by small particles. Models based on Taylor series of the scattering coefficients of the particles fail to predict the morphologic resonances hosted by dielectric particles. Here, we propose to use the factorization of the special functions appearing in the expression of the Mie scattering coefficients to derive point-like models. These models can be applied to reproduce both Mie resonances of dielectric particles and plasmonic resonances of metallic particles. They provide simple but robust tools to predict accurately the electric and magnetic Mie resonances in dielectric particles.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2017

Dykes for filtering ocean waves using c-shaped vertical cylinders

The present study investigates a way to design dykes which can filter the wavelengths of ocean surface waves. This offers the possibility to achieve a structure that can attenuate waves associated with storm swell, without affecting coastline in other conditions. Our approach is based on low frequency resonances in metamaterials combined with Bragg frequencies for which waves cannot propagate in periodic lattices.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2016

Control of Rayleigh-like waves in thick plate Willis metamaterials

We explore interactions of elastic waves propagating in plates (with soil parameters) structured with concrete pillars buried in the soil. Pillars are 2 m in diameter, 30 m in depth and the plate is 50 m in thickness. We study the frequency range 5 to 10 Hz, for which Rayleigh wave wavelengths are smaller than the plate thickness. This frequency range is compatible with frequency ranges of particular interest in earthquake engineering. It is demonstrated in this paper that two seismic cloaks' configurations allow for an unprecedented flow of elastodynamic energy associated with Rayleigh surface waves. The first cloak design is inspired by some approximation of ideal cloaks' parameters within the framework of thin plate theory. The second, more accomplished but more involved, cloak design is deduced from a geometric transform in the full Navier equations that preserves the symmetry of the elasticity tensor but leads to Willis' equations, well approximated by a homogenization procedure, as corroborated by numerical simulations. The two cloaks's designs are strikingly different, and the superior efficiency of the second type of cloak emphasizes the necessity for rigor in transposition of existing cloaks's designs in thin plates to the geophysics setting. Importantly, we focus our attention on geometric transforms applied to thick plates, which is an intermediate case between thin plates and semi-infinite media, not studied previously. Cloaking efficiency (reduction of the disturbance of the wave wavefront and its amplitude behind an obstacle) and protection (reduction of the wave amplitude within the center of the cloak) are studied for ideal and approximated cloaks' parameters. These results represent a preliminary step towards designs of seismic cloaks for surface Rayleigh waves propagating in sedimentary soils structured with concrete pillars.

physics.geo-ph↗

arXiv2016

Bio-inspired seismic metamaterials: Time domain simulations in transformed crystals

We introduce the concept of transformation crystallography which consists of the application of geometric transforms to periodic structures. We consider motifs with three-fold, four-fold and six-fold symmetries according to the crystallographic restriction theorem. Furthermore, we define motifs with five-fold symmetry such as quasi-crystals generated by a cut-and-projection method. We analyze elastic wave propagation in the transformed crystals and (Penrose-type) quasi-crystals with the finite difference time domain freeware SimSonic. We consider geometric transforms underpinning the design of seismic cloaks with square, circular, elliptical and peanut shapes in the context of triangular, square and honeycomb crystals. Interestingly, the use of morphing techniques leads to the design of cloaks with interpolated geometries reminiscent of Victor Vasarely's artwork. Employing the case of transformed graphene-like (honeycomb) structures allows one to draw useful analogies between large-scale seismic metamaterials such as soils structured with columns of concrete or grout with soil and nanoscale biochemical metamaterials. We further point out similarities between cloaks for elastodynamic and hydrodynamic waves and cloaks for diffusion (heat or mass) diffusion processes, notably with respect to invisibility and protection. Experimental data extracted from field test analysis of soil structured with boreholes demonstrates the application of bio-inspired seismic metamaterials. We conclude that these novel materials hold strong applications in biophysics and geophysics.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2016

Flat lens for seismic waves

A prerequisite for achieving seismic invisibility is to demonstrate the ability of civil engineers to control seismic waves with artificially structured soils. We carry out large-scale field tests with a structured soil made of a grid consisting of cylindrical and vertical holes in the ground and a low frequency artificial source (< 10 Hz). This allows the identification of a distribution of energy inside the grid, which can be interpreted as the consequence of an effective negative refraction index. Such a flat lens reminiscent of what Veselago and Pendry envisioned for light opens avenues in seismic metamaterials to counteract the most devastating components of seismic signals.

physics.geo-ph↗

arXiv2016

Auxetic-like metamaterials as novel earthquake protections

We propose that wave propagation through a class of mechanical metamaterials opens unprecedented avenues in seismic wave protection based on spectral properties of auxetic-like metamaterials. The elastic parameters of these metamaterials like the bulk and shear moduli, the mass density, and even the Poisson ratio, can exhibit negative values in elastic stop bands. We show here that the propagation of seismic waves with frequencies ranging from 1Hz to 40Hz can be influenced by a decameter scale version of auxetic-like metamaterials buried in the soil, with the combined effects of impedance mismatch, local resonances and Bragg stop bands. More precisely, we numerically examine and illustrate the markedly different behaviors between the propagation of seismic waves through a homogeneous isotropic elastic medium (concrete) and an auxetic-like metamaterial plate consisting of 64 cells (40mx40mx40m), utilized here as a foundation of a building one would like to protect from seismic site effects. This novel class of seismic metamaterials opens band gaps at frequencies compatible with seismic waves when they are designed appropriately, what makes them interesting candidates for seismic isolation structures.

physics.class-ph↗