Dr Simon Horsley

Research Fellow

Research Bio.
2001-2005: MPhys/MPhil (Physics with Philosophy) - University of York.

2006-2009: PhD (Aharonov-Bohm type effects for composite systems) - University of York.

Late 2009: European Laboratory for Non-linear Spectroscopy (LENS), Florence, Italy (the theory of radiation pressure effects in atomic lattices)

Early 2010: King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (the quantum mechanics of charged particles bound to surfaces with corners)

June 2010-present: EPSRC Postdoctoral Fellowship, St Andrews.

Current Research
I am currently working on an extension to the theory of transformation optics that applies to chiral metamaterials. So far this has involved generalising the tools of differential geometry used in transformation optics, partly looking at the issues involved in defining electromagnetism in spaces with geometrical properties beyond just curvature.

Further to this I have been extending earlier work on radiation pressure effects due to the interaction of light and moving dielectric media. This has been looking into the effects of dispersion and polarization mixing on the optical force. Interestingly, it has been found that these subtle radiation pressure effects are relevant within systems of cold atoms trapped within an optical lattice, and to the controversy regarding the existence of `quantum friction'.

Research Topics
Dr. Horsley's research topics include:
Casimir forces
Transformation optics