Time Interfaces in Nanoplasma-Switched Wire Media

TL;DR

This paper analytically investigates the complex temporal transition of a uniaxial dielectric into a wire medium with strong spatial dispersion, revealing wave transformations and power flow splitting relevant for nanoplasma discharges.

Contribution

It provides an analytical solution for temporal discontinuities in wire media, accounting for spatial dispersion effects previously unaddressed.

Findings

A TM wave transforms into four waves during the transition.

Power flow splits into two directions, one along the wires.

The analysis applies to nanoplasma discharges in split wire gaps.

Abstract

In this work, we consider instantaneous transitions of an infinitely extended uniaxial dielectric into a wire medium (WM) of continuous infinitely long conducting wires. Due to the strong spatial dispersion in the WM the known (Morgenthaler's) theory of temporal discontinuities is not applicable. We solve this problem analytically in time domain. We show that a transverse electromagnetic (TM) plane wave transforms into four waves: a pair of TM waves and a pair of transverse electromagnetic waves. This way, the power flow splits into two different directions, with one of them along the wires. Such a transition can possibly be achieved by nanoplasma discharges in the gaps of the split wires, initiated by an external voltage source applied to the wire and transforming the split wires forming the uniaxial dielectric into continuous ones.