Resonance-enhanced spectral funneling in Fabry–Perot resonators with a temporal boundary mirror

A temporal boundary refers to a specific time at which the properties of an optical medium are abruptly changed. When light interacts with the temporal boundary, its spectral content can be redistributed due to the breaking of continuous time-translational symmetry of the medium where light resides. In this work, we use this principle to demonstrate, at terahertz (THz) frequencies, the resonance-enhanced spectral funneling of light coupled to a Fabry–Perot resonator with a temporal boundary mirror. To produce a temporal boundary effect, we abruptly increase the reflectance of a mirror constituting the Fabry–Perot resonator and, correspondingly, its quality factor in a step-like manner. The abrupt increase in the mirror reflectance leads to a trimming of the coupled THz pulse that causes the pulse to broaden in the spectral domain. Through this dynamic resonant process, the spectral contents of the input THz pulse are redistributed into the modal frequencies of the high-Q Fabry–Perot resonator formed after the temporal boundary. An energy conversion efficiency of up to 33% was recorded for funneling into the fundamental mode with a Fabry–Perot resonator exhibiting a sudden Q-factor change from 4.8 to 48. We anticipate that the proposed resonance-enhanced spectral funneling technique could be further utilized in the development of efficient mechanically tunable narrowband terahertz sources for diverse applications.

Revolutionizing Spaceflight: A Study on Electric Propulsion and Air-Breathing MPDs

Modern liquid-fuel rocket propulsion harbors a number of great limitations. Among those is the weight of fuel, which makes up more than 90% of the mass of the SpaceX Falcon 9 (NASA, 2018). Electric propulsion has been used for decades as an alternative to liquid-fuel rockets due to low propellant requirements and high specific impulse. Although electric thrusters have strictly been used in non-atmospheric conditions, recent innovations attempt to expand its use to airspace. This quasi-experimental study focuses on the creation of an air-breathing magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster, with attempts being made to maximize the efficiency of the engine. Immense safety concerns prevented testing from occurring after the engine was built. However, the estimated performance of the built MPD is compared to a multitude of existing forms of electric propulsion, from Hall-effect thrusters to electrodynamic tethers. The concluding evidence suggests that air-breathing MPDs are not currently viable, high-power photon thrusters being of greater use in atmospheric conditions. Further research focusing on decreasing atmospheric breakdown voltage and increasing mirror reflectance of photon thrusters is suggested.