Taking Inspiration from Quantum-Wave Analogies --- Recent Results for Photonic Crystals

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent rigorous mathematical foundations for quantum-wave analogies in classical electromagnetism, highlighting advances in topological phenomena and media classification, with implications for understanding electromagnetic symmetries.

Contribution

It establishes a rigorous mathematical framework for quantum-wave analogies in electromagnetism, advancing the understanding of topological effects and symmetry classifications in electromagnetic media.

Findings

Classified electromagnetic media by material symmetries.

Demonstrated the non-existence of fermionic time-reversal symmetries in electromagnetism.

Connected quantum formalism to classical wave phenomena.

Abstract

Similarities between quantum systems and analogous systems for classical waves have been used to great effect in the physics community, be it to gain an intuition for quantum systems or to anticipate novel phenomena in classical waves. This proceeding reviews recent advances in putting these quantum-wave analogies on a mathematically rigorous foundation for classical electromagnetism. Not only has this Schr\"odinger formalism of electromagnetism led to new, interesting mathematical problems for so-called Maxwell-type operators, it has also improved the understanding of the physics of topological phenomena in electromagnetic media. For example, it enabled us to classify electromagnetic media by their material symmetries, and explained why "fermionic time-reversal symmetries" --- that were conjectured to exist in the physics literature --- are in fact forbidden.