Optical metrics and birefringence of anisotropic media
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
2009-11-11 v1
Abstract
The material tensor of linear response in electrodynamics is constructed out of products of two symmetric second rank tensor fields which in the approximation of geometrical optics and for uniaxial symmetry reduce to "optical" metrics, describing the phenomenon of birefringence. This representation is interpreted in the context of an underlying internal geometrical structure according to which the symmetric tensor fields are vectorial elements of an associated two-dimensional space.
Cite
@article{arxiv.gr-qc/0504051,
title = {Optical metrics and birefringence of anisotropic media},
author = {Alexander B. Balakin and Winfried Zimdahl},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:gr-qc/0504051},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
24 pages, accepted for publication in GRG