Nonlinear Optics of optomagnetics: Quantum and Classical Treatments

TL;DR

This paper develops quantum and classical models to describe optomagnetic effects in nonlinear optics, deriving analytical expressions for magnetization and light propagation in magnetized media, and discussing inverse Faraday and Cotton-Mouton effects.

Contribution

It introduces a unified quantum and classical framework for optomagnetics, providing analytical formulas and revealing differences between the two approaches.

Findings

Generalized Pitaevskii's relationship derived

Analytical expressions for optical gyration vector coefficients obtained

Verdet constants for inverse Faraday and Cotton-Mouton effects calculated

Abstract

Optomagnetics emerges as a growing field of research cross-linking optics, magnetism and material science. Here, we provide a microscopic quantum mechanical and a macroscopic classical models to describe optomagnetic effects from nonlinear optics point of view. Our self-consistent quantum mechanical formulation considers all orders of perturbing field and results not only in finding generalized Pitaevskii's relationship, where photoinduced magnetization can be expanded in terms of light power, but also provide compact and analytical expressions for optical gyration vector coefficients. classical treatment is then developed based on the anharmonic Drude-Lorentz model showing that the photo-induced DC magnetization is proportional to odd harmonics of the light power. The difference in quantum and classical results are revealed and discussed. Having a pomp-probe setup in mind, we describe how a probe light signal can propagate down an optomagnetic medium, i.e. a medium that is magnetized by intense circularly-polarized pump light, via its permittivity tensor and find light propagation characteristics. Inverse Faraday and Cotton-Mouton Effects are discussed as a result of circular and linear birefringences and their Verdet constants have been analytically found.