Abstract
Spatial tailoring of the material constitutive properties is a well-known strategy to mold the local flow of given observables in different physical domains. Coordinate-transformation-based methods (e.g., transformation optics) offer a powerful and systematic approach to design anisotropic, spatially-inhomogeneous artificial materials ("metamaterials") capable of precisely manipulating wave-based (electromagnetic, acoustic, elastic) as well as diffusion-based (heat) phenomena in a desired fashion. However versatile these approaches have been, most designs have so far been limited to serving single-target functionalities in a given physical domain. Here we present a step towards a "transformation multiphysics" framework that allows independent and simultaneous manipulation of multiple physical phenomena. As a proof of principle of this new scheme, we design and synthesize (in terms of realistic material constituents) a metamaterial shell that simultaneously behaves as a thermal concentrator and an electrical "invisibility cloak". Our numerical results open up intriguing possibilities in the largely unexplored phase space of multi-functional metadevices, with a wide variety of potential applications to electrical, magnetic, acoustic, and thermal scenarios.
Highlights
Conventional materials have been devised and engineered to serve only single-target applications
Utilizing coordinate transformations while effectively linking phenomena in multiple physical domains, we demonstrate a step towards a general platform that can be called transformation multiphysics
The characteristics that we illustrate in this study are a vivid example of artificial structures collectively transcending their natural limitations, and doing so in multiple physical domains independently and simultaneously
Summary
Conventional materials have been devised and engineered to serve only single-target applications. Viewing the rerouting of energy flow as a distortion of space from a coordinate transformation, the correspondence between constitutive material parameters and geometric transformations can serve as a powerful recipe for designing and fabricating artificial structures This approach has been utilized for the manipulation of electromagnetic waves [3,4,5], and for acoustics [6,7,8,9,10], elastodynamics [11,12,13,14,15,16], electrostatic [17,18,19] and magnetostatic [20,21,22,23,24] fields, as well as liquid surface waves [25], and diffusive heat flow [26,27,28].
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