arXiv subjects

Stephen P. Shipman

Publications and source records attributed to Stephen P. Shipman.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Lossless Polariton Solitons

Photons and excitons in a semiconductor microcavity interact to form exciton-polariton condensates. These are governed by a nonlinear quantum-mechanical system involving exciton and photon wavefunctions. We calculate all non-traveling harmonic soliton solutions for the one-dimensional lossless system. There are two frequency bands of bright solitons when the inter-exciton interactions produce an attractive nonlinearity and two frequency bands of dark solitons when the nonlinearity is repulsive. In addition, there are two frequency bands for which the exciton wavefunction is discontinuous at its symmetry point, where it undergoes a phase jump of pi. A band of continuous dark solitons merges with a band of discontinuous dark solitons, forming a larger band over which the soliton far-field amplitude varies from zero to infinity; the discontinuity is initiated when the operating frequency exceeds the free exciton frequency. The far fields of the solitons in the lowest and highest frequency bands (one discontinuous and one continuous dark) are linearly unstable, whereas the other four bands have linearly stable far fields, including the merged band of dark solitons.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2014

Continuous and discontinuous dark solitons in polariton condensates

Bose-Einstein condensates of exciton-polaritons are described by a Schrödinger system of two equations. Nonlinearity due to exciton interactions gives rise to a frequency band of dark soliton solutions, which are found analytically for the lossless zero-velocity case. The soliton's far-field value varies from zero to infinity as the operating frequency varies across the band. For positive detuning (photon frequency higher than exciton frequency), the exciton wavefunction becomes discontinuous when the operating frequency exceeds the exciton frequency. This phenomenon lies outside the parameter regime of validity of the Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) model. Within its regime of validity, we give a derivation of a single-mode GP model from the initial Schrödinger system and compare the continuous polariton solitons and GP solitons using the healing length notion.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2014

Eigenfunctions of Unbounded Support for Embedded Eigenvalues of Locally Perturbed Periodic Graph Operators

It is known that, if a locally perturbed periodic self-adjoint operator on a combinatorial or quantum graph admits an eigenvalue embedded in the continuous spectrum, then the associated eigenfunction is compactly supported--that is, if the Fermi surface is irreducible, which occurs generically in dimension two or higher. This article constructs a class of operators whose Fermi surface is reducible for all energies by coupling several periodic systems. The components of the Fermi surface correspond to decoupled spaces of hybrid states, and in certain frequency bands, some components contribute oscillatory hybrid states (corresponding to spectrum) and other components contribute only exponential ones. This separation allows a localized defect to suppress the oscillatory (radiation) modes and retain the evanescent ones, thereby leading to embedded eigenvalues whose associated eigenfunctions decay exponentially but are not compactly supported.

math-ph↗

arXiv2013

Lorentz-Conformal Transformations in the Plane

While conformal transformations of the plane preserve Laplace's equation, Lorentz-conformal mappings preserve the wave equation. We discover how simple geometric objects, such as quadrilaterals and pairs of crossing curves, are transformed under nonlinear Lorentz-conformal mappings. Squares are transformed into curvilinear quadrilaterals where three sides determine the fourth by a geometric "rectangle rule," which can be expressed also by functional formulas. There is an explicit functional degree of freedom in choosing the mapping taking the square to a given quadrilateral. We characterize classes of Lorentz-conformal maps by their symmetries under subgroups of the dihedral group of order eight. Unfoldings of non-invertible mappings into invertible ones are reflected in a change of the symmetry group. The questions are simple; but the answers are not obvious, yet have beautiful geometric, algebraic, and functional descriptions and proofs. This is due to the very simple form of nonlinear Lorentz-conformal transformations in dimension 1+1, provided by characteristic coordinates.

math.DG↗

arXiv2013

Resonant electromagnetic scattering in anisotropic layered media

The resonant excitation of an electromagnetic guided mode of a slab structure by exterior radiation results in anomalous scattering behavior, including sharp energy-transmission anomalies and field amplification around the frequency of the slab mode. In the case of a periodically layered ambient medium, anisotropy serves to couple the slab mode to radiation. Exact expressions for scattering phenomena are proved by analyzing a pole of the full scattering matrix as it moves off the real frequency axis into the lower half complex plane under a detuning of the wavevector parallel to the slab. The real pole is the frequency of a perfect (infinite Q) guided mode, which becomes lossy as the frequency gains an imaginary part. This work extends results of Shipman and Venakides to evanescent source fields and two-dimensional parallel wavevector and demonstrates by example how the latter allows one to control independently the width and central frequency of a resonance by varying the angle of incidence of the source field. The analysis relies on two nondegeneracy conditions of the complex dispersion relation for slab modes (relating poles of the scattering matrix to wavevector), which were assumed in previous works and are proved in this work for layered media. One of them asserts that the dispersion relation near the wavevector and frequency of a perfect guided mode is the zero set of a simple eigenvalue, and the other relates the frequency derivative of the eigenvalue to the total energy of the mode, thereby implying that this derivative is nonzero.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

An Exactly Solvable Model for Nonlinear Resonant Scattering

This work analyzes the effects of cubic nonlinearities on certain resonant scattering anomalies associated with the dissolution of an embedded eigenvalue of a linear scattering system. These sharp peak-dip anomalies in the frequency domain are often called Fano resonances. We study a simple model that incorporates the essential features of this kind of resonance. It features a linear scatterer attached to a transmission line with a point-mass defect and coupled to a nonlinear oscillator. We prove two power laws in the small coupling \to 0 and small nonlinearity \to 0 regime. The asymptotic relation ~ C ^4 characterizes the emergence of a small frequency interval of triple harmonic solutions near the resonant frequency of the oscillator. As the nonlinearity grows or the coupling diminishes, this interval widens and, at the relation ~ C ^2, merges with another evolving frequency interval of triple harmonic solutions that extends to infinity. Our model allows rigorous computation of stability in the small and limit. In the regime of triple harmonic solutions, those with largest and smallest response of the oscillator are linearly stable and the solution with intermediate response is unstable.

math-ph↗

arXiv2011

Total Resonant Transmission and Reflection by Periodic Structures

Resonant scattering of plane waves by a periodic slab under conditions close to those that support a guided mode is accompanied by sharp transmission anomalies. For two-dimensional structures, we establish sufficient conditions, involving structural symmetry, under which these anomalies are characterized by total transmission and total reflection at frequencies separated by an arbitrarily small amount. The loci of total reflection and total transmission are real-analytic curves in frequency-wavenumber space that intersect quadratically at a single point corresponding to the guided mode. A single anomaly or multiple anomalies can be excited by the interaction with a single guided mode.

math-ph↗

arXiv2010

A lattice model for resonance in open periodic waveguides

We present a discrete model of resonant scattering of waves by an open periodic waveguide. The model elucidates a phenomenon common in electromagnetics, in which the interaction of plane waves with embedded guided modes of the waveguide causes sharp transmission anomalies and field amplification. The ambient space is modeled by a planar lattice and the waveguide by a linear periodic lattice coupled to the planar one along a line. We show the existence of standing and traveling guided modes and analyze a tangent bifurcation, in which resonance is initiated at a critical coupling strength where a guided mode appears, beginning with a single standing wave and splitting into a pair of waves traveling in opposing directions. Complex perturbation analysis of the scattering problem in the complex frequency and wavenumber domain reveals the complex structure of the transmission coefficient at resonance.

math-ph↗

arXiv2010

Convergent Power Series for Fields in Positive or Negative High-Contrast Periodic Media

We obtain convergent power series representations for Bloch waves in periodic high-contrast media. The material coefficient in the inclusions can be positive or negative. The small expansion parameter is the ratio of period cell width to wavelength, and the coefficient functions are solutions of the cell problems arising from formal asymptotic expansion. In the case of positive coefficient, the dispersion relation has an infinite sequence of branches, each represented by a convergent even power series whose leading term is a branch of the dispersion relation for the homogenized medium. In the negative case, there is a single branch.

math-ph↗

arXiv2009

Field sensitivity to L^p variations of a scatterer

For the problem of diffraction of harmonic scalar waves by a lossless periodic slab scatterer, we analyze field sensitivity with respect to the material coefficients of the slab. The governing equation is the Helmholtz equation, which describes acoustic or electromagnetic fields. The main theorem establishes the variational Frechet derivative of the scattered field measured in the H^1 (root-mean-square-gradient) norm as a function of the material coefficients measured in an L^p (p-power integral) norm, with 2<p<infinity, as long as these coefficients are bounded above and below by positive constants and do not admit resonance. The derivative is Lipschitz continuous. We also establish the variational derivative of the transmitted energy with respect to the material coefficients in L^p.

math.AP↗

arXiv2008

Fano-Type Resonance of Waves in Periodic Slabs

We investigate Fano-type anomalous transmission of energy of plane waves across lossless slab scatterers with periodic structure in the presence of non-robust guided modes. Our approach is based on rigorous analytic perturbation of the scattering problem near a guided mode and applies to very general structures, continuous and discrete.

math-ph↗

arXiv2007

Magnetism and homogenization of micro-resonators

Arrays of cylindrical metal micro-resonators embedded in a dielectric matrix were proposed by Pendry, et. al., in 1999 as a means of creating a microscopic structure that exhibits strong bulk magnetic behavior at frequencies not realized in nature. This behavior arises for H-polarized fields in the quasi-static regime, in which the scale of the micro-structure is much smaller than the free-space wavelength of the fields. We carry out both formal and rigorous two-scale homogenization analyses, paying special attention to the appropriate method of averaging, which does not involve the usual cell averages. We show that the effective magnetic and dielectric coefficients obtained by means of such averaging characterize a bulk medium that, to leading order, produces the same scattering data as the micro-structured composite.

math-ph↗

arXiv2006

Open Systems Viewed Through Their Conservative Extensions

A typical linear open system is often defined as a component of a larger conservative one. For instance, a dielectric medium, defined by its frequency dependent electric permittivity and magnetic permeability is a part of a conservative system which includes the matter with all its atomic complexity. A finite slab of a lattice array of coupled oscillators modelling a solid is another example. Assuming that such an open system is all one wants to observe, we ask how big a part of the original conservative system (possibly very complex) is relevant to the observations, or, in other words, how big a part of it is coupled to the open system? We study here the structure of the system coupling and its coupled and decoupled components, showing, in particular, that it is only the system's unique minimal extension that is relevant to its dynamics, and this extension often is tiny part of the original conservative system. We also give a scenario explaining why certain degrees of freedom of a solid do not contribute to its specific heat.

math-ph↗

arXiv2006

Open Subsystems of Conservative Systems

The subject under study is an open subsystem of a larger linear and conservative system and the way in which it is coupled to the rest of system. Examples are a model of crystalline solid as a lattice of coupled oscillators with a finite piece constituting the subsystem, and an open system such as the Helmholtz resonator as a subsystem of a larger conservative oscillatory system. Taking the view of an observer accessing only the open subsystem we ask, in particular, what information about the entire system can be reconstructed having such limited access. Based on the unique minimal conservative extension of an open subsystem, we construct a canonical decomposition of the conservative system describing, in particular, its parts coupled to and completely decoupled from the open subsystem. The coupled one together with the open system constitute the unique minimal conservative extension. Combining this with an analysis of the spectral multiplicity, we show, for the lattice model in particular, that only a very small part of all possible oscillatory motion of the entire crystal, described canonically by the minimal extension, is coupled to the finite subsystem.

math-ph↗