Space-time refraction of light in time dependent media: the analogue within the analogue

Abstract

The problem of electromagnetic wave propagation in time varying media is very old, but in recent years it has been revisited at a more fundamental level leading to the introduction of several new concepts, such as Time Refraction. These concepts explore the symmetries between space and time and can be transposed to different fields by establishing powerful analogies between effects in Electrodynamics, Optics and problems in Quantum Cosmology and in what is sometimes called Analogue Gravity. We examine the alteration of the ordinary (spatial) Fresnel laws of refraction at the interface between two media when the optical properties of one of the media varies in time.