A research group led by Skoltech professor Athanasios Polimeridis has developed a novel numerical method for modeling electromagnetic fluctuations in complex media. Their research has been published in Physical Review B.
Professor Polimeridis and his colleagues from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, USA) and Princeton University (Princeton, USA) developed a numerical method for the efficient calculation of various luminescence and incandescence processes. They derived a fluctuating volume-current (FVC) formulation of electromagnetic fluctuations that extends the range and validity of current methods to inhomogeneous media problems. These inhomogeneities include spatially varying temperature gradients and dielectric properties within bodies.
Quantum and thermal fluctuations of charges give rise to a wide range of electromagnetic phenomena; these include luminescence from active media, e.g. fluorescence and spon- taneous emission, the finite linewidth of lasers near threshold, thermal radiation and heat transfer from hot objects, and dispersive interactions (Casimir forces) between nearby surfaces. Fluctuation-driven effects are not only responsible for many naturally occurring processes but are also poised to take an increasingly active role in emerging nanotechnologies, spurring interest in the study and engineering of complex shapes that could dramatically alter their behavior.
The research group continues to work on the method and its applications in various problems, including highly directional thermal radiation from heterogeneous structures subject to temperature gradients, non-equilibrium Casimir forces between chiral particles, and enhanced, directional spontaneous emission from gain-composite media. Modeling these problems with the FVC formulation of electromagnetic fluctuations is expected to enable the design and fabrication of novel devices with predefined electromagnetic properties.
- G. Polimeridis et al.,Phys. Rev. B 92: 134202, 2015.
http://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.92.134202
* The Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) is a private graduate research university in Skolkovo, Russia, a suburb of Moscow. Established in 2011 in collaboration with MIT, Skoltech educates global leaders in innovation, advances scientific knowledge, and fosters new technologies to address critical issues facing Russia and the world. Applying international research and educational models, the university integrates the best Russian scientific traditions with twenty-first century entrepreneurship and innovation.
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