Quantum theory of dispersive electromagnetic modes

Abstract

A quantum theory of dispersion for an inhomogeneous solid is obtained, from a starting point of multipolar coupled atoms interacting with an electromagnetic field. The dispersion relations obtained are equivalent to the standard classical Sellmeir equations obtained from the Drude-Lorentz model. In the homogeneous (plane-wave) case, we obtain the detailed quantum mode structure of the coupled polariton fields, and show that the mode expansion in all branches of the dispersion relation is completely defined by the refractive index and the group-velocity for the polaritons. We demonstrate a straightforward procedure for exactly diagonalizing the Hamiltonian in one, two or three-dimensional environments, even in the presence of longitudinal phonon-exciton dispersion, and an arbitrary number of resonant transitions with different frequencies. This is essential, since it is necessary to include at least one phonon (I.R.) and one exciton (U.V.) mode, in order to accurately represent dispersion in transparent solid media. Our method of diagonalization does not require an explicit solution of the dispersion relation, but relies instead on the analytic properties of Cauchy contour integrals over all possible mode frequencies. When there is longitudinal phonon dispersion, the relevant group-velocity term is modified so that it only includes the purely electromagnetic part of the group velocity.