Progress In Electromagnetics Research, Vol.

132, 149–158, 2012

SPECTRUM OF CHERENKOV RADIATION IN DISPER-

SIVE METAMATERIALS WITH NEGATIVE REFRAC-
TION INDEX

G. Burlak*
Center for Research on Engineering and Applied Sciences, Autonomous
State University of Morelos, Cuernavaca, Mor., Mexico

Abstract—We numerically studied the spectrum of Cherenkov optical

radiation by a nonrelativistic anisotropic electron bunch crossing 3D
dispersive metamaterial. A practically important case when such a
medium is described by Drude model is investigated in details. In our
theory only parameters of a metamaterial are fixed. The frequency
spectrum of internal excitations is left to be defined as a result of
the numerical simulation. It is found that a periodic field structure
coupled to plasmonic excitations is arisen when the dispersive refractive
index of a metamaterial becomes negative. In this case the reversed
Cherenkov radiation is observed.

1. INTRODUCTION

Recently emerging fields of metamaterials promise a variety of

applications in nanophotonics and plasmonics with the potential for
faster information processing. The investigations of optical negative-
index [1] metamaterials (NIM) using the nanostructured metal-
dielectric composites already have led to both fundamental and applied
achievements that have been realized in various structures [2–21].
The main applications of negative index metamaterials (or
lefthanded materials (LHM)) are connected with a remarkable
property: the direction of the energy flow and the direction of the
phase velocity are opposite in NIM that results unusual properties of
electromagnetic waves propagating in these mediums. The negative
real part of the refractive index is typically observed together with
strong dispersion, so that in general the absorption cannot be
disregarded. Recently, authors of [12] have demonstrated that the
Received 19 July 2012, Accepted 3 September 2012, Scheduled 26 September 2012
* Corresponding author: Gennadiy Burlak (gburlak@uaem.mx).
150 Burlak

incorporation of gain material in a metamaterial allows fabricating

very low-loss NIM. Thus, the original loss-limited negative refractive
index can be drastically improved with loss compensation in the visible
wavelength range [4].
Cherenkov radiation by a charged source that moves in (or in
the interface) a left-handed material has been studied in number of
works [15–21]. Both experimental and theoretical frameworks are
investigated, see review [16] and references therein.
In this paper the Cherenkov optical radiation in 3D metamaterials
with a special emphasis on the dispersive properties of the medium is
numerically studied. To do that we performed the FDTD simulations
with the use of the material parameters, however without references to
the operational frequency range.

2. BASIC EQUATIONS

In metamaterials, it is necessary to treat electromagnetic wave (EMW)

interactions with a metal ingredient using a dispersive formulation
that allows correct description of the internal electron dynamics. In
this paper we exploit the Drude model that became widely used for
modeling in complex materials where for a range of frequency the
negative refraction index n is expected. The Maxwell equations read
∂H
∇ × E = −µ0 µh − Jm − σm H, (1)
∂t
∂E
∇ × H = ε0 εh + qv0 f (r, t) + Je + σe E, (2)
∂t
where Je is the electrical current and Jm the magnetic current which
obey the following material equations
J̇e + γe Je = be E, J̇m + γm Jm = bm H, (3)
here γe and γm are the electrical and magnetic collision frequencies
2 , b
respectively. be = ε0 ωpe 2
m = µ0 ωpm , ωpe and ωpm are frequencies
of electric and magnetic plasmons respectively. σe and σm are
conductivities. εh and µh are dielectric and magnetic functions of
the host medium respectively [22, 23]. For metals such as aluminum,
copper, gold, and silver, the density of the free electrons is on the
order of 1023 cm−3 . The typical value ωpe ≈ 2 · 1016 s−1 ([24], p.44).
In a metamaterial with fishnet structure [12] we consider the bunch
of electrons (charge q) moving with a velocity parallel to x direction:
v0 k bex and the density of the bunch is defined by the anisotropic
Gaussian as f (r, t) = W −3 exp{−[(x−v0 t)2 +y 2 q22 +z 2 /q22 ]/W 2 }, where
q2 ≥ 1 is const, W is the bunch width; it is interesting that at W → 0
Progress In Electromagnetics Research, Vol. 132, 2012 151

such a distribution can be simplified to the isotropic point-source

distribution f (r, t) → (π)3/2 δ(x − v0 t)δ(y)δ(z). Further for simulations
we use dimensionless variables, where for renormalization are used
the vacuum light velocity c = (ε0 µ0 )−0.5 and the typical spatial scale
l0 = 75 nm. With such a normalization, e.g., above indicated the metal
plasma frequency becomes ωpe = 5. The electrical and magnetic fields
are renormalized with the electrical scale E0 = ql0 ε0 and magnetic
scale H0 = (ε0 /µ0 )0.5 E0 correspondingly. Some metamaterials exhibit
anisotropic properties with tensor permittivity and permeability. To
seek for simplicity in this paper we concentrated in the isotropic
geometry. Modeling anisotropic medium is a straightforward extension
of this model, see details in Refs. [16, 21].
The idea of our simulations is as follows. In optical experiments
normally we can refer only to the parameters of material (γe , σe , ωpe ,
and γm , σm , ωpm ). It is of significant interest to consider Cherenkov
radiation in such a system, proceeding from simple principles, using
only material parameters and without of references to the operational
frequency band. In this situation the frequency spectrum of internal
excitations ω must be left as a free parameter that has to be defined
from simulations by a self-consistent way. For 3D dispersion material
such a problem becomes too difficult for analytical consideration.
Therefore in this paper the standard numerical algorithms in the
time domain [FDTD and ADE (auxiliary differential equation) [25]]
were used. For our numerical simulations was employed the program
scheme [26] that we have converted to visual C# code and adapted for
our purposes.
We consider a general 3D case in Cartesian coordinates since such
a geometry normally is used on the optical investigations [12]. We ex-
amine a spatially averaged metamaterial composition: nanostructured
metal-dielectric composites (fishnet), similarly that was used in the
experiment [12]. In this case the spatial average scale is less then the
infrared (IR) and visual wavelengths, so we can deem that the material
(dielectric and magnetic) dispersion is allowed by the Drude model and
the role of the active dielectric ingredient is reduced to a compensa-
tion of losses due to the metal ingredient. In our simulations numerical
grid L3 with L = 100, 120, 150 was used. To avoid the no-physical
wave reflections in the numerical 3D boundaries the standard analyt-
ical absorbing boundary conditions (ABC) were employed (see details
in [25] Chapter 6). It is found that already the use of first order ABC
allows us to reach the acceptable small level of the field reflection (a
few percents) at a reasonable time-consuming computation. We have
used PC with Intel Duo CPU with 2.40 GHz and 4 GB RAM. For 3D
numerical grid with L3 , L = 100 the typical time of FDTD simulation
152 Burlak

was 15 minutes.
In our approach the following steps have been used: (i) In first
one we calculated the time-spatial field dynamics that is raised by
the crossing electron bunch, Equations (1)–(3). (ii) In second step we
apply the Fourier analysis for the time dependencies calculated in the
first step in order to reveal the spectrum of internal excitations. The
following dimensionless parameters were used in our simulations: ωpe =
5, ωpm = 7, εh = 1.44, µh = 1, γe = γm = 10−4 , σe = σm = 10−7 ,
W = 3, q2 = 2. We varied the velocity v0 to study different regimes of

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
Figure 1. (color online.) Snapshots of the field component Ex (r, t)
in plane (x, y, z = 80) for metamaterial with εh = 1.44, µh = 1
at time t = 200 and various particle velocity v0 . In (a) shown
the case of dispersiveless dielectric (θ is a light emission angle) with
ωpe = ωpm = 0, v0 = 0.52 and Re(n) = 1.2, while in panels (b),
(c), (d) are shown the cases of metamaterial with ωpe = 5, ωpm = 7.
(b) v0 = 0.52; (c) v0 = 0.4; (d) v0 = 0.35. The inset in (d) shows
the complementary angle θ1± for cases Re(n) > 0 and Re(n) < 0
respectively. The oscillations in the top of the figures exhibit the shock
waves (bremsstrahlung) arising by charged bunch at the beginning of
motion (see [27], Chapter 2).
Progress In Electromagnetics Research, Vol. 132, 2012 153

the Cherenkov radiation. Our results are shown in Figures 1–3.

For a conventional dispersiveless dielectric the emission angle
θ (see Figure 1(a) that is the angle between the direction of wave
propagation and charge velocity) is given by [22] cos(θ) = c/nv0 . In
what follows we will use other complementary angle θ1 = π/2 − θ.
For such angle we have cos(θ) = sin(θ1 ) = c/nv0 , so for conventional
material (with Re(n) > 0) θ1 is positive θ1 = θ1+ > 0, while for
negative refraction index metamaterial NIM (with Re(n) < 0) θ1 is
negative θ1 = θ1− < 0, see inset in Figure 1(d).
The normalized numerical velocity of√the propagating field in 3D
homogeneous numerical grid is dl/dt = 3dx/dt (with √ dx = dy =
dz) [25]. In what follows we will refer to dx/dt = (1/ 3)dl/dt = cn ≡
0.577 as normalized “vacuum light velocity” in the numerical grid, such
that cn > v0 . Other important velocity is ccr = cn /|n| corresponding to
the critical velocity of bunch v0 when the Cherenkov radiation appears
in a dispersiveless dielectric with refraction index n. We note that in
a dispersive medium ccr is a frequency depending parameter.
First we have simulated the Cherenkov radiations in conventional
dispersiveless dielectric, when in Equations (1)–(3) ωpe = 0, ωpm = 0
and n = 1.2 are. The result is shown in Figure 1(a) for cn >
v0 = 0.52 > ccr = 0.475. From Figure 1(a) we can observe the
sharply defined Cherenkov wave front with the angle θ1 = 67.67◦ that
corresponds to specified n and v0 with the accuracy about 1%.
The field dynamics that emerges at different values velocity v0 in
metamaterials with no-zero ωpe , ωpm is shown in Figures 1(b), (c), (d)
and exhibits some representative cases. First we studied the case with
ωpe < ωpm (ωpe = 5, ωpm = 7), see details in Figures 1(b), (c), (d).
Comparison of Figures 1(a) and (b), (c), and (d) shows that the field
structures for dispersiveless dielectric and dispersive metamaterial are
very different. Figures 1(b), (c), (d) show the formation of a periodic
field structures in metamaterial. For case when ωpe < ωpm we clearly
observe the formation of the wave fronts with negative emission angle
in area closely to the output of system.
In order to see what type of internal dynamics occurs in such a
system, further we study the time dependence of the field strengths
E(r, t), H(r, t) in some fixed point r0 . Figure 2 shows such a dynamics
in point r0 = (50, 50, 80).
We observe from Figures 2(a), (b) that the field amplitudes still
have oscillating behavior, although the charged bunch already has left
the system. The Fourier analysis (see Figure 2(d)) shows that the
spectrum of such oscillating motion has narrow peak at frequency
ω = 4.08 that is in the area of the plasmon frequency ωpe = 5. In
case ωpe < ωpm such a behavior weakly depends on ωpm value.
154 Burlak

0.4 0.1

0.05
0.2

Ey , Hz
Ex

0
-0.05

-0.2
-0.1 Ey
Hz
-0.4 -0.15
0 100 200 300 400 0 100 200 300 400
t t
(a) (b)
-6
x 10
2.5 1

2 0.8
Ex (r , ω)
1.5 0.6
Px, y, z

1 Px 0.4

Py
0.5 0.2
Pz
0 0
0 100 200 300 400 0 5 10 15 20
t ω
(c) (d)
Figure 2. (color online.) Time dynamics of fields in point r0 =
(50, 50, 80) of metamaterial with L3 , L = 100. (a) Ex (r0 , t); (b)
Ey (r0 , t) and Hz (r0 , t); (c) Components of Poynting vector Px (t), Py (t),
Pz (t) in output at plane x = 0; (d) Fourier spectrum of Ex (r0 , t) having
a resonance at ω0 = 4.08.

Figure 2(c) shows the dynamics of the time averaged Poynting

vector P in the output plane. We observe that such flux (as expected)
arrives the output with some retardation time ∆t equal to the time
motion the bunch through the system ∆t = L/v0 . The amplitudes
Px,y,z slowly reduce due to radiation of the excited plasmons out the
system. Since Pi 6= 0, we conclude that such excitations correspond
to propagating plasmons rather than static plasma oscillations at
frequency ωpe .
Finally, it is of interest to calculate the value that the refractive
index of metamaterial n(ω) has for the sharp frequency resonance
ω0 = 4.08 in Figure 2(d). In the frequency domain the Drude dispersive
permittivity and permeability have the following form ([25], Chapter 9)
ε(ω) = εh −ωpe2 /(ω 2 +iγ ω) and µ(ω) = µ −ω 2 /(ω 2 +iγ ω). For such
e h pm m
ε(ω) and µ(ω) the complex refraction index for the NIM metamaterial
Progress In Electromagnetics Research, Vol. 132, 2012 155

can be written as [28]

p
n(ω) = |ε(ω)µ(ω)|ei[φε (ω)+φµ (ω)]/2 . (4)
As a result of straightforward substituting the resonant frequency
ω0 = 4.08 into ε(ω), µ(ω) and then in n(ω) Equation (4) we obtain
n = −0.33 − i10−5 ; thus, such a resonance (as well as its vicinity)
corresponds to the negative refraction index of the metamaterial
(NIM); in this case Re(n(ω)) = −0.33.
In the above the cases with ωpe < ωph are investigated with details.
The generation of the plasmons coupled to free electromagnetic waves
(EMW) having negative phase velocity is found, see figures Figures 1
and 2. It was established out that the refractive index n is negative

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
Figure 3. (color online.) (a), (b) Snapshots of the field component
Ex (r, t) in plane (x, y, z = 80) for metamaterial with εh = 1.44,
µh = 1 at time t = 400, particle velocity v0 = ccr = cc /nh = 0.475:
(a) ωpm = 7 > ωpe = 5; (b) ωpm = 5 < ωpe = 7. Frequency
dependence of the complex reflection index n(ω) and Ex (r0 , ω) for
(c) ωpm = 7 > ωpe = 5; (d) ωpm = 5 < ωpe = 7, where point
r0 = (50, 50, 80). Maximal frequency peaks of Ex (r0 , ω) are in (c)
at ω0 = 0.408, and (d) at ω0 = 0.565 respectively. See details in the
text.
156 Burlak

for the resonant frequency of such excitations. The following question

emerges, whether such a state (field + plasmons) will have the same
behavior for the alternative relation when ωpe > ωph ? It is instructively
to compare the spectra for indicated situations. The answer can
be seen by the inspection of Figure 3 where the case of velocity v0
having critical value v0 = ccr = cn /nh is shown. We observe from
Figures 3(a), (c) that for ωpe < ωph the EMW still are generated
closely to the plasmonic frequency area and the emission angle clearly
has a negative value. Fourier transformation in Figure 3(c) shows
that in this situation the frequency resonance for Ex (r0 , ω) again rises
up at ω0 ≈ 4.08 where corresponding refraction index is n(ω0 ) =
−0.34 − 0.00056i, so it is pronounced NIM case. However, as one can
see from Figures 3(b), (d) the opposite relation ωpe > ωph leads that in
Figure 3(b) EMW have smaller amplitudes regarding to Figure 3(a).
Furthermore, Ex (r0 , ω) has maximal resonance at ω0 = 5.65 where the
refraction index n(ω0 ) = 8.1 · 10−5 − 0.14i is almost pure imaginary
one. The latter represents a medium with essential dissipation of
EMW rather than NIM. We can conclude that the reversed Cherenkov
radiation can be consistently observed in metamaterials with ωpe < ωph
relation.

3. CONCLUSION

We numerically study the frequency spectrum of the Cherenkov

optical radiation of a charged anisotropic bunch crossing 3D dispersive
metamaterial with small losses. A practically important case when
such a metalo-dielectric metamaterial is described by Drude model for
both dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability is investigated.
In our approach only parameters of a metamaterial are fixed. The
spectrum of the internal excitations was defined in a result of
numerical simulation. It is found that for ωpe < ωph a periodic field
structure coupled to plasmonic excitations is arisen for resonances
when the dispersive refractive index of the metamaterial becomes
negative. In this case the reversed Cherenkov radiation is observed.
This effect opens new interesting possibilities in various applications
metamaterials in nanophotonics with the potential for deep control and
quick information processing.

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