Work

Theoretical proposal for the experimental realisation of a monochromatic electromagnetic knot

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: We propose an antenna designed to generate monochromatic electromagnetic knots and other ‘unusual electromagnetic disturbances’ in the microwave domain. Our antenna is a spherical array of radiating dipolar elements configured to approximate the desired electromagnetic field near its centre. We show numerically that a specific embodiment of the antenna with a radius of 61.2 cm and only 20 element pairs driven at a frequency of 2.45 GHz can yield linked and torus-knotted electric and magnetic field lines approximating those of an ‘electromagnetic tangle’: a monochromatic electromagnetic knot closely related to the well-known Rañada–Hopf type electromagnetic knots but simpler in its construction. The antenna could be used to locally excite plasmas.

Source: Journal of Optics

DOI: 10.1088/2040-8986/abfc33

Authors: R P Cameron, W Löffler, K D Stephan

Institutions: University of Strathclyde, Leiden University, Texas State University

Language: English

Topic: Quantum and Classical Electrodynamics

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,850

Funders: Julian Schwinger Foundation for Physics Research, Royal Society, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek