No Arabic abstract
The time reversal symmetry of the wave equation allows wave refocusing back at the source. However, this symmetry does not hold in lossy media. We present a new strategy to compensate wave amplitude losses due to attenuation. The strategy leverages the instantaneous time mirror (ITM) which generates reversed waves by a sudden disruption of the medium properties. We create a heterogeneous ITM whose disruption is unequal throughout the space to create waves of different amplitude. The time-reversed waves can then cope with different attenuation paths as typically seen in heterogeneous and lossy environments. We consider an environment with biological tissues and apply the strategy to a two-dimensional digital human phantom from the abdomen. A stronger disruption is introduced where forward waves suffer a history of higher attenuation, with a weaker disruption elsewhere. Computer simulations show heterogeneous ITM is a promising technique to improve time reversal refocusing in heterogeneous, lossy, and dispersive spaces.
An instantaneous time mirror (ITM) is an interesting approach to manipulate wave propagation from the time boundaries. In the time domain, the reversed wave is previously proven to be the temporal derivative of the original pattern. Here, we further investigate into the relationship between the wave patterns in the spatial domain both theoretically and experimentally. The refraction of a square array of laser beams is used to determine the three-dimensional (3D) shape of the water surface. The experimental results verify the theoretical prediction that the reversed pattern is related to the Laplacian of the initial wave field. Based on these findings, the behaviors of the ITM activated in an inhomogeneous medium are discussed, and the phenomenon of total energy change is explained.
Radiation from magnetic and electric dipole moments is a key subject in theory of electrodynamics. Although people treat the problem thoroughly in the context of frequency domain, the problem is still not well understood in the context of time domain, especially if dipole moments arbitrarily vary in time under action of external forces. Here, we scrutinize the instantaneous power radiated by magnetic and electric dipole moments, and report findings that are different from the conventional understanding of their instantaneous radiation found in textbooks. In contrast to the traditional far-field approach based on the Poynting vector, our analysis employs a near-field method based on the induced electromotive force, leading to corrective terms that are found to be consistent with time-domain numerical simulations, unlike previously reported expressions. Beyond its theoretical value, this work may also have significant impact in the field of time-varying metamaterials, especially in the study of radiation from subwavelength meta-atoms, scatterers and emitters that are temporally modulated.
With the development of the Internet of Things technology, indoor tracking has become a popular application nowadays, but most existing solutions can only work in line-of-sight scenarios, or require regular re-calibration. In this paper, we propose WiBall, an accurate and calibration-free indoor tracking system that can work well in non-line-of-sight based on radio signals. WiBall leverages a stationary and location-independent property of the time-reversal focusing effect of radio signals for highly accurate moving distance estimation. Together with the direction estimation based on inertial measurement unit and location correction using the constraints from the floorplan, WiBall is shown to be able to track a moving object with decimeter-level accuracy in different environments. Since WiBall can accommodate a large number of users with only a single pair of devices, it is low-cost and easily scalable, and can be a promising candidate for future indoor tracking applications.
We prove the uncertainty relation $sigma_T , sigma_E geq hbar/2$ between the time $T$ of detection of a quantum particle on the surface $partial Omega$ of a region $Omegasubset mathbb{R}^3$ containing the particles initial wave function, using the absorbing boundary rule for detection time, and the energy $E$ of the initial wave function. Here, $sigma$ denotes the standard deviation of the probability distribution associated with a quantum observable and a wave function. Since $T$ is associated with a POVM rather than a self-adjoint operator, the relation is not an instance of the standard version of the uncertainty relation due to Robertson and Schrodinger. We also prove that if there is nonzero probability that the particle never reaches $partial Omega$ (in which case we write $T=infty$), and if $sigma_T$ denotes the standard deviation conditional on the event $T<infty$, then $sigma_T , sigma_E geq (hbar/2) sqrt{mathrm{Prob}(T<infty)}$.
In the rod and hole paradox as described by Rindler (1961 Am. J. Phys. 29 365-6), a rigid rod moves at high speed over a table towards a hole of the same size. Observations from the inertial frames of the rod and slot are widely different. Rindler explains these differences by the concept of differing perceptions in rigidity. Gron and Johannesen (1993 Eur. J. Phys. 14 97-100) confirmed this aspect by computer simulation where the shapes of the rods are different as observed from the co-moving frames of the rod and slot. Lintel and Gruber (2005 Eur. J. Phys. 26 19-23) presented an approach based on retardation due to speed of stress propagation. In this paper we consider the situation when two parallel rods collide while approaching each other along a line at an inclination with their axis. The collisions of the top and bottom ends are reversed in time order as observed from the two co-moving frames. This result is explained by the concept of extended present derived from the principle of relativity of simultaneity.