We study the analogy between propagation of light rays in a stationary curved spacetime and in a toroidal (meta-)material. After introducing a novel gravitational analog of the index of refraction of a magneto-electric medium, it is argued that light rays not only feel a Lorentz-like force in a magneto-electric medium due to the non-vanishing curl of the toroidal moment, but also there exists an optical analog of Aharonov–Bohm effect for the rays traveling in a region with a curl-free toroidal moment. Experimental realization of this effect could utilize either a multiferroic material or a toroidal metamaterial.
CITATION STYLE
Besharat, A., Miri, M., & Nouri-Zonoz, M. (2019). Optical Aharonov–Bohm effect due to toroidal moment inspired by general relativity. Journal of Physics Communications, 3(11). https://doi.org/10.1088/2399-6528/ab582a
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