Abstract

By considering a perfect reflector submerged in a dielectric fluid, we show that the Minkowski formulation describes the optical momentum transfer to submerged objects. This result is required by global energy conservation, regardless of the phase of the reflected wave. While the electromagnetic pressure on a submerged reflector can vary with phase of the mirror reflection coefficient between twice the Abraham momentum and twice the Minkowski momentum, the Minkowski momentum is always restored due to the additional pressure on the dielectric surface. This analysis also gives further evidence for use of the Minkowski stress tensor at the boundary of a dielectric interface, which has been the subject of a long-standing debate in physics and the source of uncertainty in the modeling of optical forces on submerged particles.

© 2011 Optical Society of America

Radiation Pressure on Submerged Mirrors: Implications for the Momentum of Light in Dielectric Media

Masud Mansuripur
Opt. Express 15(5) 2677-2682 (2007)

Momentum of Light in a Dielectric Medium

Peter W. Milonni and Robert W. Boyd
Adv. Opt. Photon. 2(4) 519-553 (2010)

Radiation force on a Fabry-Perot slab immersed in a dielectric

Sjoerd Stallinga
Opt. Express 14(3) 1286-1295 (2006)

Radiation pressure and the linear momentum of light in dispersive dielectric media

Masud Mansuripur
Opt. Express 13(6) 2245-2250 (2005)

On the origin of photon mass, momentum, and energy in a dielectric medium [Invited]

Nikolai B. Chichkov and Boris N. Chichkov
Opt. Mater. Express 11(8) 2722-2729 (2021)