Are Polarization and Magnetization Really Bulk Properties?

DIPC Seminars

Speaker

Raffaele Resta (University of Trieste, Italy)

When

2014/12/05
13:00

Place

Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC). Manuel Lardizabal 4, Donostia

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**Are Polarization and Magnetization Really Bulk Properties?** Raffaele Resta Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trieste, Italy Textbooks typically attempt microscopic definitions in terms of the dipole moment per cell: this is only correct for the spin contribution to magnetization M, but is incorrect for both polarization P and for the orbital contribution to M. The microscopic quantities well defined inside a polarized material are the microscopic charge and current densities: these trivially determine the dipole (electric and magnetic) of a finite sample, but the sample boundary yields an extensive contribution to such dipoles. Contrary to what textbooks pretend, the microscopic charge and current densities in the bulk of a sample do not determine the values of P and M. The problem has been solved in 1993 for P and in 2005-6 for M. In the latter case, there have been recent developments at the fundamental level[1]. In this talk I will outline the state of the art about P and M. [1] R. Bianco and R. Resta, “Orbital Magnetization as a Local Property”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 087202 (2013).