Homogenization near resonances and artificial magnetism from dielectrics (Q1886974)

The authors consider a homogeneous material under an electromagnetic field in harmonic regime, at a given frequency \(\omega\). Its diffractive properties are ruled by its electrical permittivity \(\epsilon\) and its magnetic permeability \(\mu\). Although almost all materials are non magnetic (and \(\mu(\omega)\) remains very close to 1), some experiments show that artificial magnetism by homogenization is possible. In this note, a mathematical explanation for this effect is presented in a very simple geometry, inspired by \textit{G. Bouchitté} and \textit{D. Felbacq} [Waves Random Media 7, No. 2, 245--256 (1997; Zbl 0909.35131)]. It consists of a periodic array of rods whose sections are \(\eta\)-periodically disposed in a two-dimensional domain. The structure is illuminated by a \(p\)-polarized incident field and the total magnetic field satisfies a Hemholtz-like equation with degenerate coefficients together with the Sommerfeld radiation condition. The aim of the work is to characterize its two-scale limit (when \(\eta\rightarrow 0\)) in terms of the solution of some homogenized diffraction problem. Effective permeability turns out to decrease continuously on a countable union of frequency intervals which are related to photonic band gaps.