Energy and momentum of a photon in a medium

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the energy and momentum of photons in different media, exploring whether these properties depend on the medium or remain constant. Participants reference various academic papers and classical electromagnetic theory to support their viewpoints.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant cites a paper claiming that the energy of a photon is dependent on the medium, while its momentum is independent.
  • Another participant suggests that neither energy nor momentum depend on the medium, arguing that photons primarily travel in a vacuum and interact with atoms separately.
  • A third participant introduces the Abraham Minkowski controversy from classical electromagnetism, noting that both Abraham and Minkowski present plausible arguments regarding the momentum of electromagnetic waves in media.
  • This participant also mentions that the resolution of the classical controversy involves considering the momentum of the medium, implying that the total energy and momentum tensor is necessary for a complete understanding.
  • One participant dismisses a referenced paper as being from a predatory journal, indicating skepticism about its credibility.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the dependence of energy and momentum on the medium, with no consensus reached. The discussion reflects competing interpretations and unresolved questions regarding the topic.

Contextual Notes

The discussion references classical electromagnetic theory and specific controversies, highlighting the complexity of the topic and the need for a comprehensive understanding of both energy and momentum in relation to the medium.

weafq
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TL;DR
Does energy and / or momentum of a photon change in a medium
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However I have not read the articles, I would say the third statement : neither energy nor momentum depend on medium. Medium is made of atoms or ions in vacuum. There photons mostly travel in vacuum and rarely interact with distributed atoms or ions. We may think of moving in vacuum and interaction with atoms separetely.
 
I don’t know for single photons, but this particular dilemma is part of classical EM.

For classical EM it is called the Abraham Minkowski controversy. The controversy is basically just that both Abraham and Minkowski have plausible arguments but Minkowski argued that the momentum of an EM wave increases as it enters a transparent medium while Abraham argued that it decreases.

The classical controversy is resolved by considering the momentum of the medium also. The energy and momentum tensor of the EM wave and the material are each individually incomplete. Only the total tensor is well defined.

For details on the resolution of the classical controversy see Peiffer et al https://arxiv.org/abs/0710.0461

I imagine that the essence of the quantum version of this will be resolved similarly, albeit with a bunch more complicated math.
 
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weafq said:
According to this paper: ht
Which is nonsense in a predatory journal.
 

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