Relativistic covariance of Ohm's law

Autor(en)

R. Starke, G. A. H. Schober

Abstrakt

The derivation of Lorentz-covariant generalizations of Ohm's law has been a long-term issue in theoretical physics with deep implications for the study of relativistic effects in optical and atomic physics. In this article, we propose an alternative route to this problem, which is motivated by the tremendous progress in first-principles materials physics in general and ab initio electronic structure theory in particular. We start from the most general, Lorentz-covariant first-order response law, which is written in terms of the fundamental response tensor μ relating induced four-currents to external four-potentials. By showing the equivalence of this description to Ohm's law, we prove the validity of Ohm's law in every inertial frame. We further use the universal relation between μ and the microscopic conductivity tensor σk to derive a fully relativistic transformation law for the latter, which includes all effects of anisotropy and relativistic retardation. In the special case of a constant, scalar conductivity, this transformation law can be used to rederive a standard textbook generalization of Ohm's law.

Organisation(en)

Computergestützte Materialphysik

Externe Organisation(en)

Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Universität Heidelberg

Journal

International Journal of Modern Physics D

Band

25

Anzahl der Seiten

12

ISSN

0218-2718

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1142/S0218271816400101

Publikationsdatum

10-2016

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

103025 Quantenmechanik, 103036 Theoretische Physik, 103015 Kondensierte Materie, 103009 Festkörperphysik

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Astronomy and Astrophysics, Mathematical Physics, Space and Planetary Science

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/a7b4d6e4-a7c2-4895-8334-24a051aff818