Search

To analyze the electromagnetic wave propagation in a medium the Maxwell equations should be supplemented by constitutive relations. At present the classification of linear constitutive relations is well established in tensorial-matrix and exterior p -form calculus. Here the constitutive relations are found in the context of Clifford geometric algebra. For this purpose Cl 1,3 algebra that conforms with relativistic 4D Minkowskian spacetime is used. It is shown that the classification of linear optical phenomena with the help of constitutive relations in this case comes from the structure of Cl 1,3 algebra itself. Concrete expressions for constitutive relations which follow from this algebra are presented. They can be applied in calculating the propagation properties of electromagnetic waves in any anisotropic, linear and nondissipative medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To have a closed system, the Maxwell electromagnetic equations should be supplemented by constitutive relations which describe medium properties and connect primary fields (E, B) with secondary ones (D, H). J.W. Gibbs and O. Heaviside introduced the basis vectors {i, j, k} to represent the fields and constitutive relations in the three-dimensional vectorial space. In this paper the constitutive relations are presented in a form of Cl3,0 algebra which describes the vector space by three basis vectors {σ1, σ2, σ3} that satisfy Pauli commutation relations. It is shown that the classification of electromagnetic wave propagation phenomena with the help of constitutive relations in this case comes from the structure of Cl3,0 itself. Concrete expressions for classical constitutive relations are presented including electromagnetic wave propagation in a moving dielectric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]