The Energy-Momentum Tensor of Electromagnetic Waves in Media and the Solution to the Abraham-Minkowski Dilemma

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new energy-momentum tensor for electromagnetic waves in media, unifying Minkowski and Abraham momenta, and offers a solution to the longstanding Abraham-Minkowski dilemma based on pressure contributions.

Contribution

It proposes a novel conserved energy-momentum tensor that accounts for pressure, reconciling Minkowski and Abraham momenta within a unified framework.

Findings

Derivation of a new conserved energy-momentum tensor.

Demonstration that pressure influences the preferred momentum form in experiments.

Provision of a theoretical resolution to the Abraham-Minkowski dilemma.

Abstract

We find that the energy-dynamic tensor of electromagnetic wave in medium defined by Lagrange density is very similar to that of ordinary fluid, and density and pressure can be defined similarly. The pressure here is different from the traditional light pressure. On this basis, we discuss the average momentum, pressure and Bernoulli effect of electromagnetic wave. After considering the contribution of the interaction term, we obtain a new conserved energy-momentum tensor, from which Minkowski momentum and Abraham momentum are derived simultaneously. The difference between them is whether the contribution of pressure is included in momentum. When the pressure significantly affects the experimental results, the experiment will support Minkowski momentum. On the contrary, Abraham momentum is supported. The findings of this paper provide a new solution to the Abraham-Minkowski Dilemma.