Thin film-based Gires–Tournois Resonator (GTR) as quasi-optical analogue of the Thomas rotation angle effect in special relativity

We present an unconventional approach to generate an optical analogue of the Thomas rotation angle found in Special Relativity (SR) by using a thin-film–based Gires–TournoisResonator (GTR). At first glance, the phase response of the GTR seems to fail as an optical analogue for the Thomas rotation an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Optics communications Vol. 454; p. 124510
Main Authors:	Dingel, B.B., Buenaventura, A., Chua, A.R., Libatique, N.J.C.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Elsevier B.V 01-01-2020
Subjects:	Fabry–Perot resonator Gires–Tournois resonator (GTR) Multilayer optics Special relativity Thin film Thomas rotation angle Wigner angle Fabry–Perot resonator Special relativity Multilayer optics Wigner angle Thomas rotation angle Gires–Tournois resonator (GTR) Thin film
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Summary:	We present an unconventional approach to generate an optical analogue of the Thomas rotation angle found in Special Relativity (SR) by using a thin-film–based Gires–TournoisResonator (GTR). At first glance, the phase response of the GTR seems to fail as an optical analogue for the Thomas rotation angle in the phase domain but we demonstrate that an analogue can be successfully constructed in the intensity domain by combining the GTR with a Michelson interferometer (MI), thus forming an interferometer known as the Michelson–Gires–Tournois Interferometer (MGTI). Thomas rotation angle is a spatial rotation of the reference frame due to the Einstein velocity addition (EVA) law of two successive relativistic velocities travelling in non-collinear directions, whereas, the GTR is a thin-film based asymmetric Fabry–Perot resonator (FPR) with a partially reflecting front mirror, and a 100% rear-reflecting mirror. We investigate in detail, both analytically and numerically, the Thomas rotation angle’s full behaviour under various parameter conditions. This approach offers the following advantages: (i) it leads to a simpler overall configuration, (ii) it measures the Thomas rotation angle directly requiring only a single optical parameter instead of multiple parameters compared with other methods, and (iii) it requires no sophisticated multilayer thin film design.
ISSN:	0030-4018 1873-0310
DOI:	10.1016/j.optcom.2019.124510