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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.19235 |
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| _version_ | 1866918459414151168 |
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| author | Bittencourt, Eduardo Brandão, Elliton O. S. R. Goulart, Érico Spadoti, Danilo H. |
| author_facet | Bittencourt, Eduardo Brandão, Elliton O. S. R. Goulart, Érico Spadoti, Danilo H. |
| contents | We study electromagnetic wave propagation in homogeneous dielectrics endowed with a linear magnetoelectric (ME) response in the geometric-optics regime. Assuming isotropic permittivity and permeability while keeping a generic $3\times 3$ ME matrix $α_{ij}$, we derive the eikonal (Fresnel) eigenvalue problem for the polarization vector and obtain a compact quartic dispersion relation for the normalized phase speed $r=v/v_d$, where $v_d=(μ\varepsilon)^{-1/2}$ is the phase speed of the underlying dielectric. We then classify the propagation effects of $α_{ij}$ by decomposing it into trace, symmetric-traceless, and antisymmetric sectors. We show that (i) the pure-trace sector is propagation-silent at leading geometric-optics order; (ii) the antisymmetric sector yields a factorized quartic and produces two branches with closed-form phase speeds, including regimes where $|v|>v_d$; and (iii) the symmetric-traceless sector encodes the richest directional dependence through algebraic invariants that control the Fresnel wave surface and polarization mixing. Finally, we discuss how the predicted phase-speed shifts can be accessed by phase-sensitive transmission and resonant techniques, and we outline numerical workflows to validate the analytic dispersion and map polarization signatures in bulk and finite geometries. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_19235 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Propagation-based classification of linear magnetoelectric response in dielectrics Bittencourt, Eduardo Brandão, Elliton O. S. R. Goulart, Érico Spadoti, Danilo H. Optics We study electromagnetic wave propagation in homogeneous dielectrics endowed with a linear magnetoelectric (ME) response in the geometric-optics regime. Assuming isotropic permittivity and permeability while keeping a generic $3\times 3$ ME matrix $α_{ij}$, we derive the eikonal (Fresnel) eigenvalue problem for the polarization vector and obtain a compact quartic dispersion relation for the normalized phase speed $r=v/v_d$, where $v_d=(μ\varepsilon)^{-1/2}$ is the phase speed of the underlying dielectric. We then classify the propagation effects of $α_{ij}$ by decomposing it into trace, symmetric-traceless, and antisymmetric sectors. We show that (i) the pure-trace sector is propagation-silent at leading geometric-optics order; (ii) the antisymmetric sector yields a factorized quartic and produces two branches with closed-form phase speeds, including regimes where $|v|>v_d$; and (iii) the symmetric-traceless sector encodes the richest directional dependence through algebraic invariants that control the Fresnel wave surface and polarization mixing. Finally, we discuss how the predicted phase-speed shifts can be accessed by phase-sensitive transmission and resonant techniques, and we outline numerical workflows to validate the analytic dispersion and map polarization signatures in bulk and finite geometries. |
| title | Propagation-based classification of linear magnetoelectric response in dielectrics |
| topic | Optics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.19235 |