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Full-Text Articles in Physics
Spacetime Geometry Of Acoustics And Electromagnetism, Lucas Burns, Tatsuya Daniel, Stephon Alexander, Justin Dressel
Spacetime Geometry Of Acoustics And Electromagnetism, Lucas Burns, Tatsuya Daniel, Stephon Alexander, Justin Dressel
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
Both acoustics and electromagnetism represent measurable fields in terms of dynamical potential fields. Electromagnetic force-fields form a spacetime bivector that is represented by a dynamical energy–momentum 4-vector potential field. Acoustic pressure and velocity fields form an energy–momentum density 4-vector field that is represented by a dynamical action scalar potential field. Surprisingly, standard field theory analyses of spin angular momentum based on these traditional potential representations contradict recent experiments, which motivates a careful reassessment of both theories. We analyze extensions of both theories that use the full geometric structure of spacetime to respect essential symmetries enforced by vacuum wave propagation. The …
Acoustic Versus Electromagnetic Field Theory: Scalar, Vector, Spinor Representations And The Emergence Of Acoustic Spin, Lucas Burns, Konstantin Y. Bliokh, Franco Nori, Justin Dressel
Acoustic Versus Electromagnetic Field Theory: Scalar, Vector, Spinor Representations And The Emergence Of Acoustic Spin, Lucas Burns, Konstantin Y. Bliokh, Franco Nori, Justin Dressel
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
We construct a novel Lagrangian representation of acoustic field theory that describes the local vector properties of longitudinal (curl-free) acoustic fields. In particular, this approach accounts for the recently-discovered nonzero spin angular momentum density in inhomogeneous sound fields in fluids or gases. The traditional acoustic Lagrangian representation with a scalar potential is unable to describe such vector properties of acoustic fields adequately, which are however observable via local radiation forces and torques on small probe particles. By introducing a displacement vector potential analogous to the electromagnetic vector potential, we derive the appropriate canonical momentum and spin densities as conserved Noether …