Effective Medium Theory of Electromagnetic and Quantum Metamaterials

Abstract

Here, we present an overview of recent developments in the characterization of electromagnetic and quantum metamaterials using effective medium methods. It is highlighted that both electromagnetic and electronic systems can be homogenized in a unified manner based on the introduction of an effective Hamiltonian operator that describes the time evolution of the macroscopic initial states as well as the stationary states of the relevant system. Furthermore, it is shown that in some circumstances quadratic forms of the fields, such as the energy, can be exactly determined using the effective medium theory.