Magneto-Optical Effect and Effective Dielectric Tensor in Composite Material Containing Magnetic Fine Particles or Thin Layers

Abstract

We have derived the effective dielectric tensor, including the off-diagonal elements, for a composite material with a structure much smaller than the wavelength of visible light. The boundary problem of the potential has been solved for the electric field induced in a magnetic ellipsoid exposed to a uniform external electric field. The result has been extended to yield the effective dielectric tensor for a composite material containing magnetic fine particles or thin layers dispersed in a nonmagnetic matrix. The component materials may be dielectric or conducting. Using the effective tensor, we have described the light-wave propagation and the magneto-optical effect, together with the light absorption, in the composite material. The criterion for applying the effective tensor is discussed.