Refraction angles and transmission rates of polarized superluminal radiation

Abstract

Abstract The propagation of superluminal waves in dispersive media is investigated, in particular the refraction at surfaces of discontinuity in layered dielectrics. The negative mass-square of the tachyonic modes is manifested in the transmission and reflection coefficients, and the polarization of the incident waves (TE, TM, or longitudinal) can be determined from the refraction angles. The conditions for total internal reflection in terms of polarization and tachyon mass are derived. Brewster angles can be used to discriminate longitudinal from transversal incidence. Superluminal transmission through dielectric boundary layers is studied, and the dependence of the intensity maxima on the transversal and longitudinal refractive indices of the layer is analyzed. Estimates of the tachyonic plasma frequency and permittivity of metals are given. The integral version of the tachyonic Maxwell equations is stated, boundary conditions at the surfaces of discontinuity are derived for transversal and longitudinal wave propagation, and singular surface fields and currents are pointed out. The spectral maps of three TeV γ-ray sources associated with supernova remnants, which have recently been obtained with imaging atmospheric Cherenkov detectors, are fitted with tachyonic cascade spectra. The transversal and longitudinal polarization components are disentangled in the spectral maps, and the thermodynamic parameters of the shock-heated ultra-relativistic electron plasma generating the tachyon flux are extracted from the cascade fits.