Comment on "Left-Handed Materials Do Not Make a Perfect Lens"

TL;DR

This paper refutes claims that perfect lensing solutions are physically impossible due to absorption, demonstrating that with proper absorption considerations, solutions remain well-behaved and can approach perfect resolution.

Contribution

It provides a counter-argument showing that absorption does not necessarily prevent perfect lensing, contrary to previous claims, and that solutions evolve smoothly to ideal focusing.

Findings

Solutions are well-behaved with finite absorption.

Absorption leads to smooth evolution towards perfect resolution.

No catastrophic collapse occurs due to absorption.

Abstract

In a recent Physical Review Letter [1] Garcia and Nieto Vesperinas (GNV) dispute the claim of perfect lensing made in [2]. The thrust of the GVN paper is that the solutions proposed in [2] imply infinite energy density and are therefore inadmissible. They claim that finite absorption leads to catastrophic collapse of the amplifying solutions vital to focussing and that no useful effect can be achieved. In this Comment I show that, on the contrary, careful consideration of absorption results in solutions that are always well behaved and evolve smoothly and continuously to perfect resolution in the limiting case of zero absorption.