The searchlight effect in hyperbolic materials

Ari Sihvola; Graeme W. Milton; Ross C. McPhedran

RECORD

The searchlight effect in hyperbolic materials

Graeme W. Milton, Ross C. McPhedran, Ari Sihvola

Optics · Submitted 25 Feb 2013

abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review

The authors' main claim It is shown that a dipole with small polarizability can dramatically influence the dipole moment of a distant polarizable dipole, if it is appropriately placed.

how it is stated · asserted 0.94 read the record →

Comment (0) Read on arXiv ↗

Cite ▾

Claim paper

The compiled record

The paper's own sentences, arranged. Each label is drawn from a closed vocabulary; the number beside it is the probability the classifier gave that label. Numbers in the tables are the authors', checked by code. No sentence in this record was written by a model.

Open the compiled record

Compiled by classifier-1.13-20260917 via OpenRouter, question bank abstract-p1-20260923, 2026-09-23: 1 request, 5,582 input tokens, $0.0002 reported.

What the abstract itself states, as probabilities: claims first 0.02 · states limitation 0.19 · human participants 0.01 · controlled comparison 0.04 · randomized assignment 0.01 · states quantitative result 0.16 · compares with prior results 0.05 · mentions code or data availability 0.02.

The abstract, sentence by sentence

arXiv listing abstract v1. Results and the main claim are underlined; show every role.

The quasistatic field around a circular hole in a two-dimensional hyperbolic medium is studied. As the loss parameter goes to zero, it is found that the electric field diverges along four lines each tangent to the hole. In this limit, the power dissipated by the field in the vicinity of these lines, per unit length of the line, goes to zero but extends further and further out so that the net power dissipated remains finite. Additionally the interaction between polarizable dipoles in a hyperbolic medium is studied. It is shown that a dipole with small polarizability can dramatically influence the dipole moment of a distant polarizable dipole, if it is appropriately placed. We call this the searchlight effect, as the enhancement depends on the orientation of the line joining the polarizable dipoles and can be varied by changing the frequency. For some particular polarizabilities the enhancement can actually increase the further the polarizable dipoles are apart.

background contribution method result interpretation main claim

What the classifier reports for each sentence. The number is the probability it gave the label.
#	sentence	role	the authors' own work	states the main conclusion	strength
s0	The quasistatic field around a circular hole in a two-dimensional hyperbolic medium is studied.	contribution 0.94	0.81	0.03	asserted 0.81
s1	As the loss parameter goes to zero, it is found that the electric field diverges along four lines each tangent to the hole.	result 1.00	0.92	0.24	asserted 1.00
s2	In this limit, the power dissipated by the field in the vicinity of these lines, per unit length of the line, goes to zero but extends further and further out so that the net power dissipated remains finite.	result 0.97	0.90	0.15	asserted 1.00
s3	Additionally the interaction between polarizable dipoles in a hyperbolic medium is studied.	contribution 1.00	0.87	0.03	asserted 0.87
s4	It is shown that a dipole with small polarizability can dramatically influence the dipole moment of a distant polarizable dipole, if it is appropriately placed.	result 0.97	0.90	0.31	asserted 0.94
s5	We call this the searchlight effect, as the enhancement depends on the orientation of the line joining the polarizable dipoles and can be varied by changing the frequency.	interpretation 0.87	0.85	0.27	asserted 0.99
s6	For some particular polarizabilities the enhancement can actually increase the further the polarizable dipoles are apart.	result 1.00	0.89	0.19	asserted 0.54

What kind of paper the classifier reports this is: theoretical result 1.00 · evidence from proof or derivation 1.00.

What was examined, and what was not

sources read

arXiv listing abstract v1

not examined

full text
figures and tables
references and citing sentences
relations to other papers

levels run

P abstract

not run

S sections
T body sentences
C citations
R cross-paper relations

Every quoted sentence on this record is the authors'. Every label is from Pith's closed vocabulary, with the probability shown beside it. Every number in the measurements table is the authors', checked by code. Record as JSON

The paper

Original abstract

The quasistatic field around a circular hole in a two-dimensional hyperbolic medium is studied. As the loss parameter goes to zero, it is found that the electric field diverges along four lines each tangent to the hole. In this limit, the power dissipated by the field in the vicinity of these lines, per unit length of the line, goes to zero but extends further and further out so that the net power dissipated remains finite. Additionally the interaction between polarizable dipoles in a hyperbolic medium is studied. It is shown that a dipole with small polarizability can dramatically influence the dipole moment of a distant polarizable dipole, if it is appropriately placed. We call this the searchlight effect, as the enhancement depends on the orientation of the line joining the polarizable dipoles and can be varied by changing the frequency. For some particular polarizabilities the enhancement can actually increase the further the polarizable dipoles are apart.

Human review

How Pith checks papers → · Full audit of this paper →

How the literature uses it

What this paper does with the arXiv papers it cites

Each citing sentence is taken from the citing paper's LaTeX source and typed by Pith's classifier. A label appears at probability 0.8 or more (0.95 for support), a contest at 0.7 or more; the quoted words are the citing authors'. How each label was checked · JSON

Discussion

Know something about this paper? Leave a comment, or highlight any passage above to comment on it.