# Deterministic time rewinding of waves in time-varying media

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a method to reverse the evolution of waves in materials using time-varying modulations, restoring them completely to their original state.

## Contribution

A deterministic mechanism for full time rewinding of waves using engineered temporal modulations in time-varying media.

## Key findings

- Time rewinding is achieved through impedance-matched bilayer structures in electromagnetic systems.
- Dirac systems enable time rewinding via interband transitions driven by time-dependent vector potentials.
- The method allows complete reconstruction of wave amplitude and phase, unlike partial recovery techniques.

## Abstract

Temporal modulation of material parameters offers unprecedented control over wave dynamics, enabling phenomena beyond the capabilities of static systems. Here we introduce and analyze a robust mechanism for time rewinding, whereby a temporally evolved wave is fully restored to its original state through a carefully engineered sequence of temporal modulations. In electromagnetic systems, time rewinding emerges from impedance-matched or anti-matched hierarchical bilayer structures with matched modulation durations, exploiting total transmission or reflection and reversed phase accumulation. In Dirac systems, it arises via complete interband transition driven by time-dependent vector potentials. Unlike time-reversal holography or quantum time mirrors, which produce wave echoes but only partial waveform recovery, our approach achieves deterministic and complete reconstruction of the entire wave state, including both amplitude and phase. Analytical conditions for robust amplitude and phase restoration are derived and validated through simulations of discrete and continuous modulations, demonstrating resilience to modulation complexity and temporal asymmetry. These findings establish a versatile platform for secure information retrieval, temporal cloaking, programmable metamaterials, and wave-based logic devices.