Abstract
By restating geometrical optics within the field-theoretical approach, the classical concept of a photon (and, more generally, any elementary excitation) in an arbitrary dispersive medium is introduced, and photon properties are calculated unambiguously. In particular, the canonical and kinetic momenta carried by a photon, as well as the two corresponding energy-momentum tensors of a wave, are derived from the first principles of Lagrangian mechanics. As an example application of this formalism, the Abraham-Minkowski controversy pertaining to the definitions of these quantities is resolved for linear waves of arbitrary nature, and corrections to the traditional formulas for the photon kinetic energy-momentum are found. Several other applications of axiomatic geometrical optics to electromagnetic waves are also presented.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 053834 |
Journal | Physical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics |
Volume | 86 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 29 2012 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics