How to become invisible?

(Asking for a friend!)

Invisibility is the superpower that allows a person to become invisible,
a common theme in fantasy and science fiction works. Currently, prac-
tical invisibility devices do not exist, but many scientists are still ded-
icated to invisibility technology. Since 2006, there have been a series
of interesting experiments. In 2006, theoretical physicist John Pendry
from Imperial College London and others, including David Smith and
Assistant Professor David Schurig from Duke University, proposed an
invisibility cloak. They created a cylinder using metamaterials (silicon
nano-materials) that could bend microwaves around it.

This major topic is divided into two parts. Part A explores a sim-
ple mirror-based invisibility system, while Part B introduces optical
conformal mapping to construct a two-dimensional invisibility system.

Part-A
This section introduces the simplest mirror-based invisibility system,
as shown in figure. A parallel beam of light enters from the left in the
direction of +x. It is reflected by mirrors M1, M, and M2 and continues
to propagate in the +x direction. The trajectories of all light beams are
symmetric with respect to the y axis. As a result, the entire system
makes the light beams move straight ahead in the +x direction, as
if they had not undergone any reflection or transmission, effectively
rendering objects located between M1 and M2 mirrors invisible.

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1. If the plane mirror M is perpendicular to the y-axis, and the plane
mirrors M1 and M2 are symmetric with respect to the y-axis, with
their intersection point (vertex) at the origin O of the xy coordi-
nates, as shown in the figure above. Assuming that the distance
between the plane mirror M and the origin O is l, determine the
equations that the surfaces of mirrors M1 and M2 must satisfy,
respectively.

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Part-B
While it is currently impossible to construct an optical invisibility sys-
tem that completely satisfies the wave equation in mathematics, within
the realm of geometrical optics, we can utilize the method of opti-
cal conformal mapping to create a two-dimensional invisibility system
when the wavelength of light is sufficiently short. The following de-
scribes a simple example.

In this section, we consider light waves propagating in two-dimensional

space (x, y) where the refractive index, denoted as n, is only a function
of position, n(x, y). We represent coordinates in the complex plane us-
ing the complex number z = x + iy.

A conformal map, also known as a conformal transformation, is a

mapping that preserves angles. More formally, a mapping w = f (z)
is called conformal (or angle-preserving) at z0 if it preserves the ori-
ented angles between curves passing through z0 and their directions.
Conformal transformations maintain angles and the shapes of infinites-
imal objects but do not necessarily preserve their sizes. Figure below
provides an example of a conformal mapping, with the Mercator pro-
jection being another illustration.

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Consider the light wave φ propagating on the complex plane z = x+iy.
It is known that this light wave must satisfy the wave equation:
 2
∂2

∂
2
+ 2 φ + n2 k 2 φ = 0
∂x ∂y
where k = ω/c is the wave number of the light wave in a vacuum, ω is
the angular frequency, and c is the speed of light.

Now, we construct a mapping function, w(z) = x′ + iy ′ , which maps

the coordinates in the z space to the w space one-to-one.

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 2. To ensure that the wave equation satisfied by the light wave φ in
the w space can be written as:

∂2 ∂2
 
2
+ φ + n′ k 2 φ = 0
∂x′2 ∂y ′2
Explain that it is sufficient for the refractive index in the z space,
denoted as n, and the refractive index in the w space, denoted as
n′ , to satisfy the following relationship:

dw
n = n′
dz

However, a problem arises at this point. While each coordinate in the

z space corresponds to only one coordinate in the z space, a specific
w coordinate may correspond to more than two z coordinates. We il-
lustrate this situation using figure below. When the same w = x′ + iy ′
coordinate corresponds to more than two z coordinates, we represent
this with multiple layers of planes in the schematic diagram. As shown,
at points R and S in layers A and B, respectively, even though their
coordinates x′ + iy ′ in the w plane are the same, the refractive indices
at the corresponding coordinates in the z space may differ. In other
words, different layers may have their own refractive index distribu-
tions. Since the light waves propagating in the z space are continuous,
the light rays in the w space, to propagate between different layers,
must first pass through the connecting points between layers, such as
points P and Q in the figure.

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Now, consider a simple mapping:

a2
w(z) = z +
z
where a is a real constant. Assuming that we initially set the refractive
index in the w space as n′ ≡ 1, in this case, the light rays propagating in
the w space plane are all straight lines. We can easily determine that z
has two solutions, so the w space can be represented by the √two planes
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in figure below. The upper plane √ represents z = 2 w + w2 − 4a2 ,
and the lower plane is z = 12 w − w2 − 4a2 .

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 3. Please prove that the set of all intersection points between the
upper and lower planes in the w space forms a line segment and
find the two endpoints of this line segment, denoted as w1 and w2 .
Assuming that w1 > w2 .

Now, we will map the equidistant vertical and horizontal lines in the
w space back to the z space, as shown in figure.

4. Please calculate the refractive index distribution, denoted as n(z),

in the optical system as shown in figure in the z space.
Note: This question only considers pure theoretical derivation, so
situations where the refractive index is less than 1 should not be
surprising.

5. Please prove that the line segment mentioned in part (3), when
mapped back to the z space, forms a circle, as shown in figure,
and find the radius r of this circle. We will refer to this circle as
Circle O.

6. Please prove that the coordinates mapped back to the z space in

the upper plane in figure above satisfy |z| < r, while those in the
lower plane satisfy |z| > r.

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The three light rays propagating in the w space when mapped back to
the z space, result in the three light rays in figure above. Light rays
that do not pass through the line segment w1 w2 will not enter Circle O,
such as Light Ray 1 and Light Ray 3. However, pay special attention
to Light Ray 2 in the w space. If a light ray enters from infinity in the
z space and passes through the line segment w1 w2 in the w space, it
is equivalent to entering the interior of Circle O in the z space, which
means transitioning from the upper plane to the lower plane in the ear-
lier figure. However, since the light rays in the w space always travel
in straight lines, Light Ray 2 can no longer return to the upper plane.
In other words, in the z space, this light ray is permanently trapped
inside Circle O and cannot escape.

To create an optical invisibility system, we must allow the light rays

that enter the interior of Circle O to return to the outside of Circle O
in the z space, essentially as if they were unaffected by the presence

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of the lower plane (the interior of Circle O). Therefore, the refrac-
tive index n′1 in the upper plane remains 1, but we need to redesign
the refractive index n′2 in the lower plane to meet the above properties.

One of the simplest refractive index n′2 distributions is as follows (where

r0 is a constant):
r0
n′2
2 = −1
|w − w1 |
7. Please prove that the above refractive index distribution causes
the light rays in the lower plane of the w space to propagate along
a closed loop, and specify the shape of this loop.

8. Attempt to find the refractive index distribution in the z space

corresponding to the refractive index distribution in the w space,
and find the refractive index at z = a. Express the answer in terms
of a and r0 .

The results obtained from this refractive index distribution are shown
in figure below. The figure illustrates that if a beam of parallel light
enters the w space, only the path passing through the line segment
w1 w2 is shown. When the light ray enters the lower plane, it propa-
gates along the closed loop represented by the dashed lines, ultimately
returning to the same point and then continuing to propagate in the
upper plane.

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 9. Due to the discontinuity of the refractive index at the intersection
line w1 w2 between the upper and lower planes, refraction occurs
when entering the lower plane from the upper plane. As shown in
figure above, there is a discontinuity in the slopes of the solid and
dashed lines at the intersection w1 w2 . In order to prevent total in-
ternal reflection for light rays incident at any angle and position (as
total internal reflection would create mirror-like reflections, break-
ing the invisibility functionality), determine the conditions that
the parameter r0 in the refractive index distribution formula of n′2
needs to satisfy.
10. In the case where r0 satisfies the conditions from the previous
question, consider light rays incident at any angle and position.
Calculate the maximum distance the light rays can reach from the
point w1 after entering the lower plane. Express the answer in
terms of a and r0 .
If we consider the maximum distance from previous question as the
radius and take w1 as the center, we can create a circle, as shown in

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figure above. In the w space, the light rays in the lower plane will
not extend beyond this circle, and the area outside this circle, when
mapped back to the z space, will correspond to a region inside Circle
O. In other words, objects within this range are made invisible.

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