Quantum Theory for Dielectric Properties of Conductors A. Response to Optical Electric Field Only G. M. Wysin
[email protected], http://www.phys.ksu.edu/personal/wysin Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506-2601 August, 2011, Vi¸cosa, Brazil 1 Summary The complex and frequency-dependent dielectric function (ω) describes how light inter- acts when propagating through matter. It determines the propagation speed, dispersion effects, absorption, and more esoteric phenomena such as Faraday rotation when a DC magnetic field is present. Of particular interest here is the description of (ω) in conduc- tors using quantum mechanics, so that intrinsically quantum mechanical systems can be described. The goal is an appropriate understanding of the contributions from band-to- band transitions, such as in metals and semiconductors, with or without an applied DC magnetic field present. Part A discusses the general theory of (ω) for a medium only in the presence of the optical electric field. The approach is to find how this electric field modifies the density matrix. It is applied to band-to-band transitions in the absence of an applied magnetic field. In Part B, the effect of a DC magnetic field is discussed generally, with respect to how it causes Faraday rotation. For free electrons, it causes quantized Landau levels for the electrons; the dielectric function is found for that problem, and related problems are discussed. In Part C, the important problem is how to include the effect of a DC magnetic field on the band-to-band transitions, such as those in metals and semiconductors.