Tuning a regular cavity to wave chaos with metasurface-reconfigurable walls
Jean-Baptiste Gros, Philipp del Hougne, Geoffroy Lerosey
Abstract
Wave-chaotic systems underpin a wide range of research activities from fundamental studies of quantum chaos via electromagnetic compatibility up to more recently emerging applications, such as microwave imaging for security screening, antenna characterization, or wave-based analog computation. To implement a wave-chaotic system experimentally, traditionally cavities of elaborate geometries (bow tie shapes, truncated circles, or parallelepipeds with hemispheres) are employed because the geometry dictates the wave field's characteristics. Here, we propose and experimentally verify a conceptually different approach: a cavity of regular geometry but with tunable boundary conditions, experimentally implemented by leveraging a reconfigurable metasurface reflect array. This approach offers an alternative stirring mechanism and enables a fuller study of random matrix theory in connection with wave chaos.