Division of the energy and of the momentum of electromagnetic waves in linear media into electromagnetic and material parts

We defend a natural division of the energy density, energy flux and momentum density of electromagnetic waves in linear media in electromagnetic and material parts. In this division, the electromagnetic part of these quantities have the same form as in vacuum when written in terms of the macroscopic electric and magnetic fields, the material momentum is calculated directly from the Lorentz force that acts on the charges of the medium, the material energy is the sum of the kinetic and potential energies of the charges of the medium and the material energy flux results from the interaction of the electric field with the magnetized medium. We present reasonable models for linear dispersive non-absorptive dielectric and magnetic media that agree with this division. We also argue that the electromagnetic momentum of our division can be associated with the electromagnetic relativistic momentum, inspired on the recent work of Barnett [Phys. Rev. Lett. 104 (2010) 070401] that showed that the Abraham momentum is associated with the kinetic momentum and the Minkowski momentum is associated with the canonical momentum.     

Photon Recoil in Light Scattering by a Bose–Einstein Condensate of a Dilute Gas

Photon recoil upon light scattering by a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) of a dilute atomic gas is analyzed theoretically accounting for a weak interatomic interaction. Our approach is based on the Gross–Pitaevskii equation for the condensate, which is coupled to the Maxwell equation for the field. The dispersion relations of recoil energy and momentum are calculated, and the effect of weak nonideality of the condensate on the photon recoil is ubraveled. A good agreement between the theory and experiment [7] on the measurement of the photon recoil momentum in a dispersive medium is demonstrated.     

Equivalence of the Abraham momentum and the Minkowski momentum of photons in media

The century-long debate on the momentum of light in a medium involves two rival forms of momentum, namely those of Abraham and Minkowksi. In this Letter, we analyze this dilemma from the view of the quantum theory of light, the result of which can be easily extended to the classical level. It is found that the Abraham momentum of one polariton mode in linear and dispersive dielectrics differs from its Minkowski momentum, by a considerable factor. However, after taking all branches into consideration, we find the two lead to the same end, which unifies the two rival forms of momentum. The sum rule is traditional, but our conclusion provides a new perspective on the Abraham-Minkowski dilemma, and is consistent with existing experiments including a recent measurement of recoil momentum of atoms using an atom interferometer with Bose-Einstein Condensates [G. K. Campbell et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 170403 (2005).], the Cerenkov effect, the Doppler effect and the phase matching conditions in nonlinear optical processes.     

Dielectric or plasmonic Mie object at air–liquid interface: The transferred and the traveling momenta of photon

Considering the inhomogeneous or heterogeneous background, we have demonstrated that if the background and the half-immersed object are both non-absorbing, the transferred photon momentum to the pulled object can be considered as the one of Minkowski exactly at the interface. In contrast, the presence of loss inside matter, either in the half-immersed object or in the background, causes optical pushing of the object. Our analysis suggests that for half-immersed plasmonic or lossy dielectric, the transferred momentum of photon can mathematically be modeled as the type of Minkowski and also of Abraham. However, according to a final critical analysis, the idea of Abraham momentum transfer has been rejected. Hence,an obvious question arises: whence the Abraham momentum? It is demonstrated that though the transferred momentum to a half-immersed Mie object(lossy or lossless) can better be considered as the Minkowski momentum, Lorentz force analysis suggests that the momentum of a photon traveling through the continuous background, however, can be modeled as the type of Abraham. Finally, as an interesting sidewalk, a machine learning based system has been developed to predict the time-averaged force within a very short time avoiding time-consuming full wave simulation.     

Electromagnetic energy, momentum, and angular momentum in an inhomogeneous linear dielectric

In a previous work, Optics Communications 284 (2011) 2460-2465, we considered a dielectric medium with an anti-reflection coating and a spatially uniform index of refraction illuminated at normal incidence by a quasimonochromatic field. Using the continuity equations for the electromagnetic energy density and the Gordon momentum density, we constructed a traceless, symmetric energy-momentum tensor for the closed system. In this work, we relax the condition of a uniform index of refraction and consider a dielectric medium with a spatially varying index of refraction that is independent of time, which essentially represents a mechanically rigid dielectric medium due to external constraints. Using continuity equations for energy density and for Gordon momentum density, we construct a symmetric energy-momentum matrix, whose four-divergence is equal to a generalized Helmholtz force density four-vector. Assuming that the energy-momentum matrix has tensor transformation properties under a symmetry group of space-time coordinate transformations, we derive the global conservation laws for the total energy, momentum, and angular momentum.     

Energy–momentum tensor for the electromagnetic field in a dielectric

The total momentum of a thermodynamically closed system is unique, as is the total energy. Nevertheless, there is continuing confusion concerning the correct form of the momentum and the energy–momentum tensor for an electromagnetic field interacting with a linear dielectric medium. Rather than construct a total momentum from the Abraham momentum or the Minkowski momentum, we define a thermodynamically closed system consisting of a propagating electromagnetic field and a negligibly reflecting dielectric and we identify the Gordon momentum as the conserved total momentum by the fact that it is invariant in time. In the formalism of classical continuum electrodynamics, the Gordon momentum is therefore the unique representation of the total momentum in terms of the macroscopic electromagnetic fields and the macroscopic refractive index that characterizes the material. We also construct continuity equations for the energy and the Gordon momentum, noting that a time variable transformation is necessary to write the continuity equations in terms of the densities of conserved quantities. Finally, we use the continuity equations and the time–coordinate transformation to construct an array that has the properties of a traceless, symmetric energy–momentum tensor.     

Relativistic analysis of the dielectric Einstein box: Abraham, Minkowski and total energy-momentum tensors

We analyse the “Einstein box” thought experiment and the definition of the momentum of light inside matter. We stress the importance of the total energy-momentum tensor of the closed system (electromagnetic field plus material medium) and derive in detail the relativistic expressions for the Abraham and Minkowski momenta, together with the corresponding balance equations for an isotropic and homogeneous medium. We identify some assumptions hidden in the Einstein box argument, which make it weaker than it is usually recognized. In particular, we show that the Abraham momentum is not uniquely selected as the momentum of light in this case.     

Covariant electrodynamics in a medium,II

The energy-momentum and angular momentum emission rates for an arbitrarily moving charge (whose speed is less than that of light in the medium) in a uniform transparent medium are calculated in manifestly covariant form. The calculations are executed for three types of stress tensor: Minkowski, Abraham, and Marx. Among other things it is found that the energy-momentum emission rates for the latter two tensors are equal and differ from that of the former. Further, the angular momentum emission rates for all three tensors are found to be equal. Only for the Marx tensor is this rate independent of the orientation of the associated asymptotic space-like surface.     

Electromagnetic momentum conservation in media

That static electric and magnetic fields can store momentum may be perplexing, but is necessary to ensure total conservation of momentum. Simple situations in which such field momentum is transferred to nearby bodies and point charges have often been considered for pedagogical purposes, normally assuming vacuum surroundings. If dielectric media are involved, however, the analysis becomes more delicate, not least since one encounters the electromagnetic energy–momentum problem in matter, the ‘Abraham–Minkowski enigma’, of what the momentum is of a photon in matter. We analyze the momentum balance in three nontrivial examples obeying azimuthal symmetry, showing how the momentum conservation is satisfied as the magnetic field decays and momentum is transferred to bodies present. In the last of the examples, that of point charge outside a dielectric sphere in an infinite magnetic field, we find that not all of the field momentum is transferred to the nearby bodies; a part of the momentum appears to vanish as momentum flux towards infinity. We discuss this and other surprising observations which can be attributed to the assumption of magnetic fields of infinite extent. We emphasize how formal arguments of conserved quantities cannot determine which energy–momentum tensor is more “correct”, and each of our conservation checks may be performed equally well in the Minkowski or Abraham framework.     

Quantization of the radiation field in an anisotropic dielectric medium

There are both loss and dispersion characteristics for most dielectric media. In quantum theory the loss in medium is generally described by Langevin force in the Langevin noise (LN) scheme by which the quantization of the radiation field in various homogeneous absorbing dielectrics can be successfully actualized. However, it is invalid for the anisotropic dispersion medium. This paper extends the LN theory to an anisotropic dispersion medium and presented the quantization of the radiation field as well as the transformation relation between the homogeneous and anisotropic dispersion media.     

Transmissivity and reflectivity of spatially dispersive thin films

We calculate the transmission and reflection coefficients for electromagnetic radiation incident normally on the surfaces of thin, spatially dispersive, absorbing, dielectric films. Results are obtained for four models of spatially dispersive dielectrics and for the case in which spatial dispersion is neglected. For each model the effects of spatial dispersion are to introduce additional fine structure into the transmission and reflection coefficients, regarded either as functions of frequency or of the thickness of the film. In addition, the results reveal an interleaving between the maxima and minima of the spectra for different models, which may provide a basis for an experimental discrimination between different phenomenological models for the nonlocal dielectric constant of a spatially dispersive dielectric medium.     

Effect of the intrinsic nonlinearity on the propagation of ultrashort optical pulses in carbon nanotubes in dispersive nonmagnetic dielectric media

The Maxwell equations for the electromagnetic field that propagates in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) placed in dispersive nonmagnetic dielectric media are analyzed with allowance for the intrinsic nonlinearity of the medium. The dependences of the pulse on the initial pulse amplitude, dispersion constants, and nonlinearity are revealed.     

Parallel velocity shear driven electrostatic waves in a very dense nonuniform magnetoplasma

It is shown that the parallel (magnetic field-aligned) velocity shear can drive the low-frequency (in comparison with the ion gyrofrequency) electrostatic (LF-ES) waves in an ultracold super-dense nonuniform magnetoplasma. By using an electron density response arising from the balance between the electrostatic and quantum Bohm forces, as well as the ion density response deduced from the continuity and momentum equations, a wave equation for the LF-ES waves is derived. In the local approximation, a new dispersion relation is obtained by Fourier transforming the wave equation. The dispersion relation reveals an oscillatory instability of dispersive drift-like modes in super-dense quantum magnetoplasmas.     

Nonlinear optical response of a dense two-level atom system embedded in a linear dielectric medium

The nonlinear optical (local) response of a dense collection of two-level atoms embedded in a linear dielectric medium is investigated theoretically. The nonlinear response of absorption and dispersion of two-level atoms associated with a weak probe field in the presence of a strong pump field is calculated in terms of the linear response theory. The numerical results show that the absorption and dispersion spectra are different from those in vacua because of the local-field effect enhancement and the local cooperative effect.     

Nonlinear Theory of the Instability of a Modulated Electron Beam of Low Density in a Plasma. I. Conservation Laws of Energy and Momentum for Electromagnetic Waves in a Nonequilibrium Dispersive and Dissipative Medium in the Case of a Slow Change of Amplitude and Phase of the Wave

A formula is given for the energy and momentum conservation laws for a narrow spectrum of electromagnetic waves in an unstable dispersive and dissipative medium by any level of dissipation and on condition that the amplitude and phase change slowly in the time and space period of oscillations. It is shown that the density of energy and momentum of the motion of resonant particles, connected with the propagation of the electromagnetic wave, generally cannot be expressed by the dielectric function of the unstable system. For example it is demonstrated that the well known Landau formula for determining the density of the wave energy in a unstable monoenergetic beam-plasma system in general is not applicable as it is often done in literature.     

Optical momentum transfer to absorbing mie particles

The momentum transfer to absorbing particles is derived from the Lorentz force density without prior assumption of the momentum of light in media. We develop a view of momentum conservation rooted in the stress tensor formalism that is based on the separation of momentum contributions to bound and free currents and charges consistent with the Lorentz force density. This is in contrast with the usual separation of material and field contributions. The theory is applied to predict a decrease in optical momentum transfer to Mie particles due to absorption, which contrasts the common intuition based on the scattering and absorption by Rayleigh particles.     

Dielectric linear response of magnetized electrons: Drag force on ions

The drag force on ions moving in a magnetized electron plasma is calculated in dielectric linear response. Various representations of the dielectric function ε(k, ω) are investigated for their suitability to display the limits for an infinite and a vanishing magnetic field. While the influence of the magnetic field is negligible in certain regions of k-space, it introduces in other regions a strong oscillatory structure in the dielectric function. This requires a careful treatment of the multidimensional integrations necessary for the drag force. The contributions from oscillatory integrands are treated by the saddle point method. Explicit results are obtained for the dependence of the drag force on the magnetic field, the direction of motion of the ion relative to the magnetic field, the shielding in the electron plasma, its density and the anisotropy of the electron temperature. The importance of the collective response of the electrons is investigated for limiting cases of the magnetic field. The validity of the linearization of the dielectric theory is checked by comparison with results obtained by numerical simulation of the nonlinear Vlasov-Poisson equation. For strong magnetic fields and low ion velocities, the simulations rather agree with the complementary binary collision model than with linear response.     

Interaction of Photons with Electrons in Dielectric Media

The question of the field energy-momentum tensor in a medium is not new and many workers, in the past, attempted to find the answer to it. Nevertheless, there was no general agreement about the form of such a tensor, thus resulting in a confusion involving the very fundaments of physics. Although the present work uses well established theories, the underlying philosophy is completely novel. Investigations are mainly centered around the collisionless plasma as, in that state, development of the argument is most transparent. On the basis of a simple theoretical reasoning, it is, first of all, postulated that the momentum of the photon in a plasma is given by the Minkowski expression. This hypothesis becomes more viable as it directly leads to the accepted form for the field energy density. Furthermore, utilizing the concepts of stimulated and spontaneous emission and absorption, it is confirmed that, in the equilibrium (between radiation and plasma), the transferred momentum has the value given by the Minkowski theory. However, as will be seen, this result is valid only in the region of high frequencies. Put otherwise, when conditions are such that the laws of geometrical optics apply, the momentum of the photon is, to a good approximation, given by the Minkowski theory. In order to arrive at a more general result, valid in the domain of wave optics, a similarity between the dispersion relation (describing the wave propagation through a medium) and the relativistic energy-momentum of a particle moving through vacuum, is explored. Accepting the equivalence of these two relations implies that some of the properties of radiation in a medium, can also be described by a massive particle travelling through empty space. In other words, the task of analysing the behaviour of electromagnetic waves in a medium, can be replaced by the analysis of the free neutral vector meson field. Adoption of this equivalence results in the field energy-momentum tensor being symmetrical. A thorough study of the field theory then provides the basis for interpreting the Abraham tensor as the sum of the “orbital” and “spin” tensors. The former is directly connected with the energy transport, whereas the latter one is not. Realising that the magnitude of the spin term increases towards the lower end of the frequency spectrum provides the resolution of the Abraham-Minkowski dilemma: the energy-momentum tensor, corresponding to the electromagnetic wave in a medium, is that given by Abraham, while the one of Minkowski is only an approximation valid at high frequencies. Although this conclusion stems from studies involving collisionless isotropic plasma, it is in excellent agreement with the experimental data.     

Electric field and force on a conducting sphere in contact with a dielectric solid

This paper presents the analysis of electric field and force on a conducting sphere lying on a dielectric solid under a uniform field. To achieve high accuracy, we have applied the analytical method of successively placing three infinite sequences of point and dipole charges (zero- or first-order multipoles). The electric field is highest at the contact point, called the triple junction, where the conductor, the dielectric solid, and the surrounding medium (gas or vacuum) meet together. Both the contact-point field and the force increase with the permittivity ratio of the solid to that of the surrounding medium. The resulting force always attracts the sphere to the solid, in contrast to the repulsive force in the case of a conducting sphere lying on a plane conductor under an external field. We have given very simple formulae for approximating the contact-point field and the force which agree with the precise values within a difference of 3% for permittivity ratios up to 32 and 64, respectively.     

Ultimately short optical pulses in carbon nanotubes in dispersive nonmagnetic dielectric media

We consider Maxwell’s equations for an electromagnetic field propagating in carbon nanotubes placed in dispersive nonmagnetic dielectric media. An effective equation having the form of an analog of the classical sine-Gordon equation was obtained and analyzed numerically. The dependence of the pulse on the type of carbon nanotubes, initial pulse amplitude, and dispersion constants of the medium was revealed.