Canonical quantization of electromagnetism in spatially dispersive media

Abstract

We find the action that describes the electromagnetic field in a spatially dispersive, homogeneous medium. This theory is quantized and the Hamiltonian is diagonalized in terms of a continuum of normal modes. It is found that the introduction of nonlocal response in the medium automatically regulates some previously divergent results, and we calculate a finite value for the intensity of the electromagnetic field at a fixed frequency within a homogeneous medium. To conclude we discuss the potential importance of spatial dispersion in taming the divergences that arise in calculations of Casimir-type effects. © 2014 IOP Publishing and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.