Photon modes in photonic crystals undergoing rigid vibrations and rotations

We explore the nature of photon modes associated with photonic crystals undergoing rigid time-dependent spatial displacements in a noninertial frame of reference and prove that under certain conditions these modes retain many of the spatial symmetries allowed in a static photonic crystal. Moreover, it is proved quite generally that such noninertial modes possess a temporal Bloch-like symmetry. Conserved “quantum numbers” are identified and a convenient scheme for labeling noninertial modes is presented.