Author Correction: Isolated detection of elastic waves driven by the momentum of light.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Isolated detection of elastic waves driven by the momentum of light.

Electromagnetic momentum carried by light is observable through the mechanical effects radiation pressure exerts on illuminated objects. Momentum conversion from electromagnetic fields to elastic waves within a solid object proceeds through a string of electrodynamic and elastodynamic phenomena, collectively bound by momentum and energy continuity. The details of this conversion predicted by theory have yet to be validated by experiments, as it is difficult to distinguish displacements driven by momentum from those driven by heating due to light absorption. Here, we have measured temporal variations of the surface displacements induced by laser pulses reflected from a solid dielectric mirror. Ab initio modelling of momentum flow describes the transfer of momentum from the electromagnetic field to the dielectric mirror, with subsequent creation/propagation of multicomponent elastic waves. Complete consistency between predictions and absolute measurements of surface displacements offers compelling evidence of elastic transients driven predominantly by the momentum of light.

Simulations of radiation pressure experiments narrow down the energy and momentum of light in matter.

Consensus on a single electrodynamic theory has yet to be reached. Discord was seeded over a century ago when Abraham and Minkowski proposed different forms of electromagnetic momentum density and has since expanded in scope with the gradual introduction of other forms of momentum and force densities. Although degenerate sets of electrodynamic postulates can be fashioned to comply with global energy and momentum conservation, hope remains to isolate a single theory based on detailed comparison between force density predictions and radiation pressure experiments. This comparison is two-fold challenging because there are just a handful of quantitative radiation pressure measurements over the past century and the solutions developed from different postulates, which consist of approximate expressions and inferential deductions, are scattered throughout the literature. For these reasons, it is appropriate to conduct a consolidated and comprehensive re-analysis of past experiments under the assumption that the momentum and energy of light in matter are degenerate. We create a combined electrodynamic/fluid dynamic simulation testbed that uses five historically significant sets of electrodynamic postulates, including those by Abraham and Minkowski, to model radiation pressure under diverse configurations with minimal assumptions. This leads to new interpretations of landmark investigations of light momentum, including the Balazs thought experiment, the Jones-Richards and Jones-Leslie measurements of radiation pressure on submerged mirrors, observations of laser-deformed fluid surfaces, and experiments on optical trapping and tractor beaming of dielectric particles. We discuss the merits and demerits of each set of postulates when compared to available experimental evidence and fundamental conservation laws. Of the five sets of postulates, the Abraham and Einstein-Laub postulates provide the greatest consistency with observations and the most physically plausible descriptions of electrodynamic interactions. Force density predictions made by these two postulates are unique under many conditions and their experimental isolation is potentially within reach.