Spatiotemporal path discontinuities of wavepackets propagating across a meta-atom

Abstract

The realization of phase discontinuities across metasurfaces has led to a new class of reflection and refraction. Here we present theory and experiment on the discontinuous propagation of wavepackets across subwavelength- thickness meta-atoms. Using acoustic waves, we observe the process of wavepackets traversing a meta-atom with abrupt displacements, which appear as path discontinuities on a space-time diagram. We construct a tunable meta-atom from two coupled resonators at,500 Hz, map the spatiotemporal trajectories of individual sonic pulses, and reveal discontinuities at the meta-atom where the pulses exit at a time similar to 50 ms ahead or behind their arrivals. Applications include thin acoustic metasurface lenses.