Theory of the inverse Faraday effect in metals

An analytic expression is given for the inverse Faraday effect, i.e., for the magnetization occuring in a transparent medium exposed to a circularly polarized high-frequency electromagnetic wave. Using a microscopic approach based on the Drude approximation of a free-electron gas, the magnetization of the medium due to the inverse Faraday effect is identified as the result of microscopic solenoidal currents generated by the electromagnetic wave. In contrast to the better known phenomenological derivation, this microscopic treatment provides important information on the frequency dependence of the inverse Faraday effect.