Electromagnetic energy within single-resonance chiral metamaterial spheres

Abstract

We derive an exact expression for the time-averaged electromagnetic energy inside a chiral dispersive sphere irradiated by a plane wave. The dispersion relations correspond to a chiral metamaterial consisting of uncoupled single-resonance helical resonators. Using a field decomposition scheme and a general expression for the electromagnetic energy density in bi-anisotropic media, we calculate the Lorenz-Mie solution for the internal fields in a medium that is simultaneously magnetic and chiral. We also obtain an explicit analytical relation between the internal electromagnetic field and the absorption cross-section. This result is applied to demonstrate that strong chirality leads to an off-resonance field enhancement within weakly absorb.ing spheres.