Journal
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY A-MATHEMATICAL PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES
Volume 368, Issue 1914, Pages 927-939Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2009.0207
Keywords
Abraham-Minkowski dilemma; photon momentum; Poynting vector; quantum optics
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Funding
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- Royal Society
- Wolfson Foundation
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It is 100 years since Minkowski and Abraham first gave rival expressions for the momentum of light in a material medium. At the single-photon level, these correspond, respectively, either to multiplying or dividing the free-space value ((h) over bark) by the refractive index (n). The debate that this work started has continued till the present day, punctuated by the occasional publication of 'decisive' experimental demonstrations supporting one or other of these values. We review the compelling arguments made in support of the Minkowski and Abraham forms and are led to the conclusion that both momenta are correct. We explain why two distinct momenta are needed to describe light in a medium and why each appears as the natural, and experimentally observed, momentum in appropriate situations.
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