Simple theory of the inverse Faraday effect with relationship to optical constants N and K

The inverse Faraday effect in general materials is theoretically investigated based on the classical motion of an electron. It is shown that the inverse Faraday effect is simply and explicitly expressed in terms of optical constants N and K, i.e., the real and imaginary parts of complex refractive index of materials. The derived new formula provides a good physical perspective for the inverse Faraday effect and enables its easy quantitative evaluation from familiar optical constants. (C) 2011 Elsevier BY. All rights reserved.