Abstract
Built upon the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, fluctuational electrodynamics describes the electromagnetic fields generated by quantum fluctuations or the thermally induced random motion of charged particles. Fluctuational electrodynamics has been extensively applied to the study of near-field radiative heat transfer and force interactions (or momentum transfer) between objects separated at micro/nanoscale distances and/or in micro/nanostructures. This chapter presents the basics of fluctuational electrodynamics along with thermal emission characteristics considering polarization effects. An introduction of the dyadic Green's function and reciprocity is provided, along with a short derivation of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem for anisotropic materials including magneto-optical and other nonreciprocal materials. The polarization state of thermal emission in the far-field regimes can be described by Stokes parameters. In addition to coherent thermal emission with linear polarization, the aspect of circularly polarized thermal emission is also discussed. The local density of states is introduced with a brief discussion of near-field radiative heat transfer.
Published Version
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