Abstract
In this work we study how CPT-odd Maxwell-Carroll-Field-Jackiw (MCFJ) electrodynamics as well as a dimension-5 extension of it affect the optical activity of continuous media. The starting point is dimension-3 MCFJ electrodynamics in matter whose modified Maxwell equations, permittivity tensor, and dispersion relations are recapitulated. Corresponding refractive indices are achieved in terms of the frequency and the vector-valued background field. For a purely timelike background, the refractive indices are real. Their associated propagation modes are circularly polarized and exhibit birefringence. For a purely spacelike background, one refractive index is always real and the other can be complex. The circularly polarized propagating modes may exhibit birefringence and dichroism (associated with absorption). Subsequently, we examine a dimension-five MCFJ-type electrodynamics, previously scrutinized in the literature, in a continuous medium. Following the same procedure, we find the refractive indices from a sixth-order dispersion equation. For a purely timelike background, three distinct refractive indices are obtained, one of them being real and two being complex. They are associated with two circularly polarized propagating modes that exhibit birefringence or dichroism, depending on the frequency range. Scenarios of propagation and absorption analogous to those found in dispersive dielectrics are also observed for spacelike background configurations. We conclude by comparing the dimension-three and five results and by emphasizing the richer phenomenology of the propagating modes in the higher-derivative model. Our results are applicable in the realm of Weyl semimetals.
Highlights
The dynamics of electromagnetic fields in continuous media is governed by the Maxwell equations, supplemented by constitutive relations [1,2] that describe the response of the medium to external, applied electromagnetic fields
In order to further understand some properties of MCFJ electrodynamics in a continuous dielectric medium with magnetic properties, we address two main scenarios: (i) a timelike and (ii) a spacelike background field Vμ
We examined an electrodynamics of continuous media based on Maxwell equations modified by CPT-odd terms, whereas the usual constitutive relations D 1⁄4 εE and H 1⁄4 μ−1B were assumed to hold
Summary
The dynamics of electromagnetic fields in continuous media is governed by the Maxwell equations, supplemented by constitutive relations [1,2] that describe the response of the medium to external, applied electromagnetic fields. The plethora of nonminimal LV theories on the one hand and the optical properties of new materials [13,81] on the other hand is a strong motivation for investigating higherderivative effects on the propagation of electromagnetic waves in dielectric substrates, including aspects of optical activity and dichroism. In this sense, the present work is devoted to analyzing the behavior of a continuous medium governed by a MCFJ-type electrodynamics in the absence and presence of higher-derivative terms. Our signature choice for the Minkowski metric ημν is ðþ; −; −; −Þ
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