Analysis of Recent Interpretations of the Abraham-Minkowski Problem

TL;DR

This paper critically examines recent interpretations of the century-old Abraham-Minkowski problem, analyzing experimental and computational studies to clarify the electromagnetic momentum in media.

Contribution

It offers a detailed critique of recent experimental and computational approaches to the Abraham-Minkowski problem, highlighting their implications and limitations.

Findings

Analysis of Kundu et al.'s radiation pressure experiment

Evaluation of Partanen et al.'s computer simulation

Clarification of electromagnetic momentum in media

Abstract

The 100-year-long problem concerning the correct form of the electromagnetic energy-momentum tensor in continuous media (usually called the Abraham-Minkowski problem) continues to attract interest. We provide a critical analysis of interpretations presented in the literature on this topic recently, in two cases - one real experiment on radiation pressure A. Kundu {\it et al.}, Scient. Reports {\bf 7}, 42538 (2017), and one computer experiment M. Partanen {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. A {\bf 95}, 063850 (2017).