Scattering of transient waves by an interface with time-modulated jump conditions

Abstract: Time modulation of the physical parameters offers new possibilities for wave control. Examples include amplification of waves, harmonic generation and non-reciprocity, without resorting to non-linear mechanisms. Most of the recent studies on the matter focus on the the time-modulation of the physical properties of a given media, that is, a time-modulation `in volume'. Here, we focus instead on time modulation at some lower-dimensional space by considering time-varying jump conditions across some interface. The latter offers simpler solutions for practical implementation. This work is focused on wave propagation in a 1D medium containing one modulated interface. Many properties of the scattered waves are investigated theoretically: energy balance, generation of harmonics, impedance matching and non-reciprocity. A fourth-order numerical method is also developed to simulate such transient scattering. Numerical experiments are conducted to validate both the theoretical findings and the numerical scheme.