Maxwell equation simulations of coherent optical photon emission from shock waves in crystals

Evan J. Reed, Marin Soljačić, and J. D. Joannopoulos
Phys. Rev. E 75, 056611 – Published 18 May 2007

Abstract

We have predicted that weak coherent radiation in the 1100THz frequency regime can be emitted under some circumstances when a shock wave propagates through a polarizable crystal, like NaCl [Reed et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 013904 (2006)]. In this work, we present and analyze a new model of a shocked polarizable crystal that is amenable to systematic analytical study and direct numerical solution of Maxwell’s equations to predict emitted coherent field amplitudes and properties. Our simulations and analysis indicate that the field amplitude of the effect decreases rapidly with increasing shock front rise distance. These models establish a fundamental limit of the ratio of emitted terahertz amplitude to the static polarization of a material. While this effect is treated classically in our previous work, we present a quantum perturbation analysis showing that it can also occur in the low-amplitude emission quantum limit.

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  • Received 29 November 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.75.056611

©2007 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Evan J. Reed1,2,*, Marin Soljačić1, and J. D. Joannopoulos1

  • 1Center for Materials Science and Engineering and Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
  • 2Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94551, USA

  • *Electronic address: reed23@llnl.gov

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Vol. 75, Iss. 5 — May 2007

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