Is it physically possible to have a material that transmits only transmits light above a certain frequency in one direction and transmits frequencies below that frequency in the opposite direction. I assume not, but I'm curious if there is a fundamental reason why that isn't possible in theory.
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asked Oct 28, 2021 at 12:09
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$\begingroup$ Related: Layer of material that transmits light in one direction and absorbs it in the other direction $\endgroup$– Chiral AnomalyOct 29, 2021 at 1:07
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1 Answer
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Time reversal invariance? If light goes the left, then the time reversed photons go to the right with the same frequency.
answered Oct 28, 2021 at 12:14
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$\begingroup$ Nothing to do with time reversal invariance but with a non-reciprocal magnetic device such as a Faraday rotator one can build circulators. If you add low pass/high pass filters in the output arms it might even emulate what the OP is asking for, but am not sure about that. $\endgroup$ Oct 28, 2021 at 14:54
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$\begingroup$ @hyportnex - but that then is an optical system, not the optical properties of one material. $\endgroup$ Oct 28, 2021 at 15:13