No Arabic abstract
Applications of the covariant theory of drive-forms are considered for a class of perfectly insulating media. The distinction between the notions of classical photons in homogeneous bounded and unbounded stationary media and in stationary unbounded magneto-electric media is pointed out in the context of the Abraham, Minkowski and symmetrized Minkowski electromagnetic stress-energy-momentum tensors. Such notions have led to intense debate about the role of these (and other) tensors in describing electromagnetic interactions in moving media. In order to address some of these issues for material subject to the Minkowski constitutive relations, the propagation of harmonic waves through homogeneous and inhomogeneous, isotropic plane-faced slabs at rest is first considered. To motivate the subsequent analysis on accelerating media two classes of electromagnetic modes that solve Maxwells equations for uniformly rotating homogeneous polarizable media are enumerated. Finally it is shown that, under the influence of an incident monochromatic, circularly polarized, plane electromagnetic wave, the Abraham and symmetrized Minkowski tensors induce different time-averaged torques on a uniformly rotating materially inhomogeneous dielectric cylinder. We suggest that this observation may offer new avenues to explore experimentally the covariant electrodynamics of more general accelerating media.
The most sensitive haloscopes that search for axion dark matter through the two photon electromagnetic anomaly, convert axions into photons through the mixing of axions with a large DC magnetic field. In this work we apply Poynting theorem to the resulting axion modified electrodynamics and identify two possible Poynting vectors, one similar to the Abraham Poynting vector and the other to the Minkowski Poynting vector in electrodynamics. The latter picks up the extra non-conservative terms while the former does not. To understand the source of energy conversion and power flow in the detection systems, we apply the two Poynting theorems to axion modified electrodynamics, for both the resonant cavity and broadband low-mass axion detectors. We show that both Poynting theorems give the same sensitivity for a resonant cavity axion haloscope, but predict markedly different sensitivity for a low-mass broadband capacitive haloscope. Hence we ask the question, can understanding which one is the correct one for axion dark matter detection, be considered under the framework of the Abraham-Minkowski controversy? In reality, this should be confirmed by experiment when the axion is detected. However, many electrodynamic experiments have ruled in favour of the Minkowski Poynting vector when considering the canonical momentum in dielectric media. In light of this, we show that the axion modified Minkowski Poynting vector should indeed be taken seriously for sensitivity calculation for low-mass axion haloscope detectors in the quasi static limit, and predict orders of magnitude better sensitivity than the Abraham Poynting vector equivalent.
Abraham-Minkowski dilemma concerning the momentum of light within dielectric materials has persisted over 100 years[1]-[2] and conflicting experiments were reported until recently[3]-[4]. We perform a reversed Fizeau experiment to test the composition law of light speeds in media and the result accords with extended Lorentz transformations where the light speed c is changed to c/n. This is a crucial evidence that Minkowskis formulation p=nE/c should be correct although the momentum is not measured directly. By the way, the energy velocity of an electromagnetic field transferred along good conductors may be much faster than c and people have broken the light barrier for a very long time.
We consider the forces exerted by a pulse of plane-wave light on a single atom. The leading edge of the pulse exerts a dispersive force on the atom, and this modifies the atomic momentum while the atom is enveloped in the light. The standard view of the optical dipole force indicates that red-detuned light should attract the atom towards high intensity. This should increase the average momentum per photon to $textbf{p}_{0} n$, where $textbf{p}_{0}$ is the photon momentum in free space and $n$ is the average refractive index due to the presence of the atom in the light. We show, however, that this is the wrong conclusion and that the atom is in fact repelled from the light by the dispersive forces, giving the photons a momentum $textbf{p}_{0} /n$. This leads us to identify Abrahams optical momentum with the kinetic momentum transfer. The form due to Minkowski is similarly associated with the canonical momentum. We consider the possibility of demonstrating this in the laboratory, and we note an unexpected connection with the Aharonov-Casher effect.
We analyze the Abraham-Minkowski problem known from classical electrodynamics from two different perspectives. First, we follow a formal approach, implying use of manifolds with curved space sections in accordance with Fermats principle, emphasizing that the resulting covariant and contravariant components of the photon four-momentum is a property linked to the {it Minkowski} theory only. There is thus no link to the Abraham theory in that context. Next we turn to the experimental side, giving a brief account of older and newer radiation pressure experiments that clearly show how the Minkowski photon momentum is preferable under optical conditions. Under low-frequency conditions, where experimental detection of the individual oscillations predicted by the Abraham term are possible, the picture is however quite different.
The dynamics of co- and counter-rotating coupled spherical pendulums (two lower pendulums are mounted at the end of the upper pendulum) is considered. Linear mode analysis shows the existence of three rotating modes. Starting from linear modes allow we calculate the nonlinear normal modes, which are and present them in frequency-energy plots. With the increase of energy in one mode we observe a symmetry breaking pitchfork bifurcation. In the second part of the paper we consider energy transfer between pendulums having different energies. The results for co-rotating (all pendulums rotate in the same direction) and counter-rotating motion (one of lower pendulums rotates in the opposite direction) are presented. In general, the energy fluctuations in counter-rotating pendulums are found to be higher than in the co-rotating case.