Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
1857417 Annals of Physics 2013 10 Pages PDF
Abstract

•The total momentum in a dielectric is identified by conservation principles.•The total momentum in a dielectric cannot be decomposed into field and matter parts.•A component of momentum in a dielectric is due to motion of the polarization field.

The long-standing resolution of the Abraham–Minkowski electromagnetic momentum controversy is predicated on a decomposition of the total momentum of a closed continuum electrodynamic system into separate field and matter components. Using a microscopic model of a simple linear dielectric, we derive Lagrangian equations of motion for the electric dipoles and show that the dielectric can be treated as a collection of stationary simple harmonic oscillators that are driven by the electric field and produce a polarization field in response. The macroscopic energy and momentum are defined in terms of the electric, magnetic, and polarization fields that travel through the dielectric together as a pulse of electromagnetic radiation. We conclude that both the macroscopic total energy and the macroscopic total momentum are entirely electromagnetic in nature for a simple linear dielectric in the absence of significant reflections.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Physics and Astronomy Physics and Astronomy (General)
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