Time Interfaces in Nanoplasma-Switched Wire Media

In this work, we consider instantaneous transitions of an infinitely extended uniaxial dielectric into a wire medium (WM) of continuous infinitely long conducting wires. Due to strong spatial dispersion in wire media the known (Morgenthaler's) theory of temporal discontinuities is not applicable. We solve this problem analytically in time domain. We show that a transverse electromagnetic (TM) plane wave in dielectric transforms into four waves in WM: a pair of TM waves and a pair of transverse electromagnetic waves. This way, the power flow splits into two different directions, with one of them along the wires. Such a transition can possibly be achieved by nanoplasma discharges in gaps of split wires, initiated by an external voltage source applied to the wires, transforming arrays of split wires forming a uniaxial dielectric into arrays of continuous ones forming a WM.