On the optical conductivity

Abstract

The quantum electrodynamics of a single photon in introduced. Using the quantized Maxwell's equations, an interesting optical conductivity of a dielectric is derived. It is found to be complementary to the electric conductivity derived that was obtained using wave nature of light. While the former varies quadratically with the refractive index of the material, the latter varies linearly. Both conductivities vary inversely with light wavelength.