Transverse power flow reversing of confined waves in extreme nonlinear metamaterials

TL;DR

This paper theoretically demonstrates that in extreme nonlinear metamaterials, electromagnetic beams can exhibit a transverse power flow reversal, a phenomenon enabled by a regime where nonlinear effects dominate linear responses.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of transverse power flow reversing in extreme nonlinear regimes and proposes a metamaterial structure capable of supporting such conditions.

Findings

Power flow can reverse sign along the beam profile.

Extreme nonlinear regime allows nonlinear response to dominate linear response.

Proposed metamaterial supports conditions for power flow reversal.

Abstract

We theoretically prove that electromagnetic beams propagating through a nonlinear cubic metamaterial can exhibit a power flow whose direction reverses its sign along the transverse profile. This effect is peculiar of the hitherto unexplored extreme nonlinear regime where the nonlinear response is comparable or even greater than the linear contribution, a condition achievable even at relatively small intensities. We propose a possible metamaterial structure able to support the extreme conditions where the polarization cubic nonlinear contribution does not act as a mere perturbation of the linear part.