Classical light dispersion theory in a regular lattice (Q875295)

The authors investigate a system of infinitely many charged particles, subject to linear restoring forces towards their equilibrium positions at the sites of a regular lattice, and interacting with each other through the retarded electromagnetic fields. In this model, each individual oscillator is represented by a point particle subject to harmonic restoring potential, to the retarded electromagnetic field by all the other particles, and to the radiation reaction according to the Lorentz-Dirac equation. The paper presents a general procedure for the calculation of the exciting field, avoiding to introduce the continuum approximation at any stage of the procedure. Employing their technique, the writers show that there exists a continuous set of normal modes describing the propagation of plane electromagnetic waves for an infinite regular lattice. The technique is valid for any values of the frequency, or of the ratio between wavelength and lattice parameter. New predictions are acquired employing the method about the behaviour of the crystal at frequencies near the proper oscillation frequency of the dipoles, and the dispersion relations resulting from this solution are numerically studied for the case of a simple cubic lattice.