Band-structure theory of dichroism

Abstract

A theoretical approach to magneto-optical effects in visible and x-ray regions on the basis of an itinerant description for the underlying electronic structure is presented. The macroscopic description of the magneto-optical effects in terms of the dielectric constant of the media is outlined. Then, it is sketched how to calculate the dielectric constant and magneto-optical spectra on the basis of the underlying band structure. Simple illustrations are given to show that the magnetooptical effects appear as a result of symmetry lowering caused by the interplay of magnetic ordering and spin-orbit coupling. © 2006 Springer.