Covariant Response Theory and the Boost Transform of the Dielectric Tensor

Abstract

After a short critique of the Minkowski formulae for the electromagnetic constitutive laws in moving media, we argue that in actual fact the problem of Lorentz-covariant electromagnetic response theory is automatically solved within the framework of modern microscopic electrodynamics of materials. As an illustration, we first rederive the well-known relativistic transformation behavior of the microscopic conductivity tensor. Thereafter, we deduce from first principles the transformation law of the wavevector- and frequency-dependent dielectric tensor under Lorentz boost transformations.

consistent with published version in Int. J. Mod. Phys. D (2017)

References in corpus (7)

• A Completely Covariant Approach to Transformation Optics
• Electromagnetic energy and momentum in moving media
• Ab initio electronic structure and optical conductivity of bismuth tellurohalides
• Transformation Optics in Nonvacuum Initial Dielectric Media
• Ab initio materials physics and microscopic electrodynamics of media
• Response Theory of the Electron-Phonon Coupling
• General form of the full electromagnetic Green function in materials physics

Cited by in corpus (7)

• Why history matters: ab initio rederivation of Fresnel equations confirms microscopic theory of refractive index
• Covariant formulation of electrodynamics in isotropic media
• Response Theory of the Electron-Phonon Coupling
• Ab initio materials physics and microscopic electrodynamics of media
• Wavevector-dependent optical properties from wavevector-independent proper conductivity tensor
• General form of the full electromagnetic Green function in materials physics
• Microscopic theory of refractive index applied to metamaterials: Effective current response tensor corresponding to standard relation $n^2={\epsilon }_{\mathrm{eff}}{\mu }_{\mathrm{eff}}$