Optical effects of one-sided Kiselev-type quintessence in reflection-asymmetric polymer thin-shell wormholes

Abstract

Strong-field rays that traverse a wormhole can carry optical information about an exterior inaccessible to the observer. We investigate this mechanism in a reflection-asymmetric thin-shell wormhole formed by joining a pure-polymer exterior containing the observer and emitting disk to a polymer geometry with a Kiselev-type anisotropic environment on the opposite side. Equal masses and a common polymer scale, angular geometry, and throat position isolate the effect of one-sided quintessence. We derive the shell-frame optical matching and calculate matched critical scales, null-ray topologies, orbit numbers, transfer functions, and face-on intensity maps for three emission prescriptions. The matching projects the opposite-side photon barrier onto a distinct inner edge of the observer screen, while the outer cosmological-type horizon partitions cross-throat rays into returned and terminal families. Across the admissible parameter grid, increasing the environmental amplitude widens the returned screen interval, increasing the polymer correction contracts it, and changing the environmental exponent produces competing trends. Observer-side orbit numbers and ordinary transfer branches remain invariant under changes confined beyond the throat, providing an exact control, whereas returned branches move and broaden. Once these branches enter the emitting support, they generate additional inner annuli at source-dependent onset strengths. The combined geometric and radiative analysis identifies a controlled cross-throat optical response to one-sided quintessence and shows how environmental information beyond the throat is encoded in matched critical structure and image morphology.