2014/11/13 by Florian Pinsker, Pinsker, Florian
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications #Orbital Angular Momentum in Optics #Quantum Physics (quant-ph) #Random lasers and scattering media #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1411.3594
revised version of the paper
openalex publication_date 2014/11/13 · arxiv created 2016/03/04 · arxiv updated 2016/03/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Starting from fundamental multiple scattering theory it is shown that negative refraction indices are feasible for matter waves passing a well-defined ensemble of scatterers. A simple approach to this topic is presented and explicit examples for systems of scatterers in 1D and 3D are stated that imply negative refraction for a generic incoming quantum wave packet. Essential features of the effective scattering field, densities and frequency spectrum of scatterers are considered. Additionally it is shown that negative refraction indices allow perfect transmission of the wave passing the ensemble of scatterers. Finally the concept of the superlens is discussed, since it is based on negative refraction and can be extended to matter waves utilizing the observations presented in this paper. This paves the way for 'untouchable' quantum systems in analogy to cloaking devices for electromagnetic waves.