Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1857417 | Annals of Physics | 2013 | 10 Pages |
•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.