Delay-bandwidth and delay-loss limitations for cloaking of large objects

TL;DR

This paper discusses fundamental physical limitations, such as delay-loss and delay-bandwidth constraints, that hinder the cloaking of large objects, emphasizing challenges in scaling cloaking technology from small to human-sized objects.

Contribution

It introduces a simple model highlighting the fundamental limitations in cloaking large objects due to delay and loss effects, guiding future experimental and material development.

Findings

Cloaking difficulty increases with object size relative to wavelength.

Delay-loss and delay-bandwidth limitations are critical for large-scale cloaking.

Scaling cloaking from small to large objects faces significant material and loss challenges.

Abstract

Based on a simple model of ground-plane cloaking, we argue that the diffculty of cloaking is fundamentally limited by delay-loss and delaylbandwidth/size limitations that worsen as the size of the object to be cloaked increases relative to the wavelength. These considerations must be taken into account when scaling experimental cloaking demonstrations from wavelength-scale objects towards larger sizes, and suggest quantitative material/loss challenges in cloaking human-scale objects.