Abstract

Electric charge densities and electric current densities in vacuum give rise to the vacuum electromagnetic fields E and B, as described by Maxwell’s equations. In macroscopic media effective charge and current densities produced by microscopic dipole moments also contribute to the total fields, as can be shown from first principles. When the relationships between the field quantities and the dipole moment densities are known the source of the effective density can be ascribed to the material property causing them. We investigate the effective charge densities and current densities caused by electromagnetic chirality. For stationary media chirality generates effective chiral polarization and magnetization current densities that can be combined as an effective chiral current density. Effective chiral charge density contributions are observed for nonstationary observers moving with relativistic velocities. The theory developed here is applicable for perturbation analyses of inhomogeneous structures, such as gratings, in chiral media.

© 1995 Optical Society of America

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