# Light Ray Trajectory through Periodic Refractive Index

Consider a ray of light travelling between two points A and B on the $xy$ plane. Using the calculus of variations and Fermat's Principle we can derive equations which give the trajectory of a ray of light through a medium of given refractive index $n(y)$ by minimising,
$$T = \int n(y) \sqrt{1+{\Big(\frac{dy}{dx}\Big)}^2}dx$$ and using the Euler-Lagrange equations we arrive quickly at an integral expression for the trajectory as $$x = \int \frac{\alpha\> dy}{\sqrt{{n(y)^2-\alpha}^2}}$$ with $\alpha$ as some arbitrary constant based on initial conditions. Now consider the refractive index of the medium to be $\> n(y)= n_0 \cos(ky)$.

At this point I can't seem to progress; Is this integral solvable with this continuously varying index? Is this the correct approach or is there a more convenient way to find the trajectory?

The integral you're trying to solve is $$x = \int \frac{\beta}{\sqrt{\cos^2 (ky) - \beta^2}} dy = \int \frac{\beta}{\sqrt{(1 - \beta^2) - \sin^2 (ky)}} dy \\= \frac{\beta}{\sqrt{1 - \beta^2}} \int \frac{dy}{\sqrt{1 - \sin^2 (ky)/(1 - \beta^2)}} dy,$$ where $$\beta \equiv \alpha/n_0$$. This can be recognized to be an incomplete elliptic integral of the first kind: $$x - x_0 = F \left( ky \left| \frac{1}{1 - \beta^2}\right) \right.$$ where $$x_0$$ is the $$x$$-coordinate when $$y = 0$$. If desired, this can be inverted to find $$y(x)$$ in terms of the Jacobi elliptic functions: $$y = \frac{1}{k} \sin^{-1} (\mathrm{sn} (x - x_0)).$$ In this notation, the use of the parameter $$1/(1- \beta^2)$$ in the definition of the inverse function is understood.
In some sense, I haven't really told you how to evaluate this integral; I've just told you that this integral has a name and has been studied (along with its inverse function.) The problem of plotting $$y(x)$$ (or $$x(y)$$) and understanding where the trajectories go is still there; and unless you have a completely intuitive understanding of the elliptic functions (I don't), then this is probably unilluminating. Still, it might give you somewhere to go from here; most mathematical handbooks can tell you about the analytical properties of the elliptic integrals and the Jacobi elliptic functions, and a computer language that can do upper-level math (e.g., Mathematica, Maple, MATLAB, etc.) could plot the trajectories out for you.