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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/11375/20969
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dc.contributor.advisorO'Dell, Duncan-
dc.contributor.authorMiladinovic, Nikola-
dc.date.accessioned2017-01-17T21:47:46Z-
dc.date.available2017-01-17T21:47:46Z-
dc.date.issued2017-
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11375/20969-
dc.description.abstractThis thesis investigates the long-standing Abraham-Minkowski controversy concerning the momentum of light inside a dielectric medium. A revealing connection to the optical He-McKellar-Wilkens (HMW) phase is found upon studying the Langrangian describing the classical laser-atom interaction. This connection is further highlighted by moving into a semi-classical model in which the phase arises as a result of the transformation between the Abraham and Minkowski Hamiltonians. The HMW along with the Aharonov-Casher phases are found to be both dynamic and geometric depending on the representation. It is shown that an optical version of the HMW phase is acquired by a dipole moving in a laser beam, and I propose several interferometric schemes in order to observe the optical HMW effect. Finally, by moving into a cavity system, it is possible to account for the back action of the atoms on the light which changes the electromagnetic mode structure. This increase in model sophistication grants an alternative vantage from which to interpret the Abraham-Minkowski problem.en_US
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subjectminkowskien_US
dc.subjectabrahamen_US
dc.subjectgeometric phaseen_US
dc.subjectrefractive indexen_US
dc.subjectlighten_US
dc.subjectphotonen_US
dc.subjectmomentumen_US
dc.subjectHMWen_US
dc.titleThe Abraham-Minkowski controversy and He-McKellar-Wilkens phaseen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.contributor.departmentPhysicsen_US
dc.description.degreetypeThesisen_US
dc.description.degreeDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)en_US
Appears in Collections:Open Access Dissertations and Theses

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