Breaking the Limitations of Temporal Modulation via Mixed Continuity Conditions

Abstract

The conventional description of time-varying media assumes that electromagnetic fields evolve according to fixed continuity conditions during parameter jumps. Here we reveal that these conditions are not physical constraints but tunable design degrees of freedom. By developing a unified framework that treats continuity rules as engineerable parameters, we expand the scope of time-varying metamaterials and enable wave phenomena previously considered impossible. For instance, non-resonant, reflectionless wave amplification without momentum bandgaps, and reversible conversion between propagating waves and static fields for optical memory, etc. This work opens a new dimension for controlling light-matter interactions.