Electromagnetic wormholes and virtual magnetic monopoles

Abstract

We describe new configurations of electromagnetic (EM) material parameters, the electric permittivity \(\epsilon\) and magnetic permeability \(\mu\), that allow one to construct from metamaterials objects that function as invisible tunnels. These allow EM wave propagation between two points, but the tunnels and the regions they enclose are not detectable to EM observations. Such devices function as wormholes with respect to Maxwell's equations and effectively change the topology of space vis-a-vis EM wave propagation. We suggest several applications, including devices behaving as virtual magnetic monopoles.