Non-Abelian evolution of electromagnetic waves in a weakly anisotropic inhomogeneous medium
- Institute of Radio Astronomy, 4 Krasnoznamyonnaya St., Kharkov 61002 (Ukraine)
- Space Research Institute, Profsoyuznaya St. 82/34, Moscow 117997 (Russian Federation)
A theory of electromagnetic wave propagation in a weakly anisotropic smoothly inhomogeneous medium is developed, based on the quantum-mechanical diagonalization procedure applied to Maxwell equations. The equations of motion for the translational (ray) and intrinsic (polarization) degrees of freedom are derived ab initio. The ray equations take into account the optical Magnus effect (spin Hall effect of photons) as well as trajectory variations owing to the medium anisotropy. Polarization evolution is described by the precession equation for the Stokes vector. In the generic case, the evolution of wave turns out to be non-Abelian: it is accompanied by mutual conversion of the normal modes and periodic oscillations of the ray trajectories analogous to electron zitterbewegung. The general theory is applied to examples of wave evolution in media with circular and linear birefringence.
- OSTI ID:
- 20982597
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. A, Vol. 75, Issue 5; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.75.053821; (c) 2007 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1050-2947
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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