Multipole theory of optical spatial dispersion in crystals

Natural optical activity is the paradigmatic example of an effect originating in the weak spatial inhomogeneity of the electromagnetic field on the atomic scale. In molecules, such effects are well described by the multipole theory of electromagnetism, where the coupling to light is treated semiclas...

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Main Author: Óscar Pozo Ocaña, Ivo Souza
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SciPost 2023-05-01
Series:SciPost Physics
Online Access:https://scipost.org/SciPostPhys.14.5.118
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author Óscar Pozo Ocaña, Ivo Souza
author_facet Óscar Pozo Ocaña, Ivo Souza
author_sort Óscar Pozo Ocaña, Ivo Souza
collection DOAJ
description Natural optical activity is the paradigmatic example of an effect originating in the weak spatial inhomogeneity of the electromagnetic field on the atomic scale. In molecules, such effects are well described by the multipole theory of electromagnetism, where the coupling to light is treated semiclassically beyond the electric-dipole approximation. That theory has two shortcomings: it is limited to bounded systems, and its building blocks -the multipole transition moments- are origin dependent. In this work, we recast the multipole theory in a translationally-invariant form that remains valid for crystals. Working in the independent-particle approximation, we introduce "intrinsic" multipole transition moments that are origin independent and transform covariantly under gauge transformations of the Bloch eigenstates. Electric-dipole transitions are given by the interband Berry connection, while magnetic-dipole and electric-quadrupole transitions are described by matrix generalizations of the intrinsic magnetic moment and quantum metric. In addition to multipole-like terms, the response of crystals at first order in the wavevector of light contains band-dispersion terms that have no counterpart in molecular theories. The full response is broken down into magnetoelectric and quadrupolar parts, which can be isolated in the static limit where electric and magnetic fields become decoupled. The rotatory-strength sum rule for crystals is found to be equivalent to the topological constraint for a vanishing chiral magnetic effect in equilibrium, and the formalism is validated by numerical tight-binding calculations.
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spelling doaj.art-b0e997c55c0842c382dd5314d04a2f932023-05-17T14:34:48ZengSciPostSciPost Physics2542-46532023-05-0114511810.21468/SciPostPhys.14.5.118Multipole theory of optical spatial dispersion in crystalsÓscar Pozo Ocaña, Ivo SouzaNatural optical activity is the paradigmatic example of an effect originating in the weak spatial inhomogeneity of the electromagnetic field on the atomic scale. In molecules, such effects are well described by the multipole theory of electromagnetism, where the coupling to light is treated semiclassically beyond the electric-dipole approximation. That theory has two shortcomings: it is limited to bounded systems, and its building blocks -the multipole transition moments- are origin dependent. In this work, we recast the multipole theory in a translationally-invariant form that remains valid for crystals. Working in the independent-particle approximation, we introduce "intrinsic" multipole transition moments that are origin independent and transform covariantly under gauge transformations of the Bloch eigenstates. Electric-dipole transitions are given by the interband Berry connection, while magnetic-dipole and electric-quadrupole transitions are described by matrix generalizations of the intrinsic magnetic moment and quantum metric. In addition to multipole-like terms, the response of crystals at first order in the wavevector of light contains band-dispersion terms that have no counterpart in molecular theories. The full response is broken down into magnetoelectric and quadrupolar parts, which can be isolated in the static limit where electric and magnetic fields become decoupled. The rotatory-strength sum rule for crystals is found to be equivalent to the topological constraint for a vanishing chiral magnetic effect in equilibrium, and the formalism is validated by numerical tight-binding calculations.https://scipost.org/SciPostPhys.14.5.118
spellingShingle Óscar Pozo Ocaña, Ivo Souza
Multipole theory of optical spatial dispersion in crystals
SciPost Physics
title Multipole theory of optical spatial dispersion in crystals
title_full Multipole theory of optical spatial dispersion in crystals
title_fullStr Multipole theory of optical spatial dispersion in crystals
title_full_unstemmed Multipole theory of optical spatial dispersion in crystals
title_short Multipole theory of optical spatial dispersion in crystals
title_sort multipole theory of optical spatial dispersion in crystals
url https://scipost.org/SciPostPhys.14.5.118
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