Light propagation in (2+1)-dimensional electrodynamics: the case of nonlinear constitutive laws

TL;DR

This paper explores how light propagates in a nonlinear medium within a (2+1)-dimensional covariant electromagnetic framework, revealing phenomena like one-way propagation and controlled opacity.

Contribution

It introduces a covariant (2+1)-dimensional model for nonlinear electrodynamics and analyzes light propagation, including phase velocity and polarization, in this reduced dimension.

Findings

Demonstrates phenomena like one-way propagation and controlled opacity

Derives phase velocity and polarization in nonlinear media

Analyzes three specific cases of nonlinear constitutive relations

Abstract

We scrutinize the geometrical properties of light propagation inside a nonlinear medium modeled by a fully covariant electromagnetic theory in $2+1$-dimensions. After setting the nonlinear constitutive relations, the phase velocity and the polarization of waves are derived and three special cases are analyzed in details. In spite of the dimensional reduction, our model still presents phenomena like one-way propagation, controlled opacity among others for a large class of dielectric and magneto-electric parameters.