Interaction of a photon with the surface and the bulk potentials of dielectric medium and a relativistic wave equation describing reflection and refraction phenomena and material dispersion

Abstract

The surface potential differs from that of bulk, due to different atomic structures and vibration modes of a solid. Interaction of a photon with the potentials leads to material dispersion. Experimentally the surface and the bulk potentials can be determined from the wavelength-dependent refractive index. They are found to be the correlated quantities at different temperatures. A relativistic wave equation is proposed in this work, which contains the potentials. It provides a consistent description of reflection and refraction phenomena and material dispersion. Using this approach we investigate the surface and the bulk potentials of silica glass. The potentials decrease with rising temperature. The bulk potential increases with the density of the glass, whereas the surface potential remains almost unchanged at room temperature.