Decomposition of the Total Electromagnetic Momentum in a Linear Dielectric into Field and Matter Components

Abstract

The long-standing resolution of the Abraham--Minkowski electromagnetic momentum controversy is predicated on a decomposition of the total momentum of a closed continuum electrodynamic system into separate field and matter components. Using a microscopic model of a simple linear dielectric, we derive Lagrangian equations of motion for the electric dipoles and show that the dielectric can be treated as a collection of stationary simple harmonic oscillators that are driven by the electric field and produce a polarization field in response. The macroscopic energy and momentum are defined in terms of the electric, magnetic, and polarization fields that travel through the dielectric together as a pulse of electromagnetic radiation. We conclude that both the macroscopic energy and the macroscopic momentum are entirely electromagnetic in nature for a simple linear dielectric in the absence of significant reflections.