Reply to "Comment on 'Theoretical analysis of the force on the end face of a nano-filament exerted by an outgoing light pulse'"

TL;DR

This paper clarifies misunderstandings regarding energy-momentum tensors in electrodynamics, demonstrating that proper tensor use aligns with Maxwell's laws and conservation principles.

Contribution

It provides a clarification and correction to previous interpretations of electromagnetic force calculations on nano-filaments.

Findings

Different stress tensors yield consistent results when correctly paired with force and momentum densities.

The apparent discrepancies in earlier comment are due to misunderstandings of tensor applications.

Proper tensor application ensures compliance with Maxwell's equations and conservation laws.

Abstract

We respond to a Comment on our paper [Physical Review A 80, 023823 (2009)], which appears to have stemmed from a misunderstanding of the various energy-momentum tensors of classical electrodynamics. It is shown that each stress tensor, when used in conjunction with the corresponding force-density and momentum-density expressions, yields results that are consistent with Maxwell's equations and with the conservation laws.