S. A. R. Horsley, J. -H. Wu, M. Artoni, G. C. La Rocca
A dielectric composed of a sequence of similar thin layers of alternating refractive index is well known to make a good mirror when radiation close to normal incidence has a wavelength within the medium of around four times the layer thickness. Such a device - often termed the Bragg reflector - is usually introduced to students within the first years of an undergraduate degree, and often in isolation from other parts of the course. Here we show that the basic physics of wave propagation through a stratified medium can be used to illustrate some more modern developments in optics as well as quantum physics; from transfer matrix techniques, to the optical properties of cold trapped atoms, optomechanical cooling, and a simple example of a system exhibiting an appreciable level of optical non{reciprocity.
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http://arxiv.org/abs/1301.4688
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