Isolated detection of elastic waves driven by the momentum of light.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30131489.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-05706-3 and PMC identifier 6105914.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
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.