Abstract
We derive the macroscopic electromagnetic-field and medium operators for a linear medium with a microscopic model. We show that, contrary to claims in the literature, the canonical momentum for the macroscopic field is –ε0Ê , not –D̂. We find that despite the change in the field-operator normalization constants, the equal-time commutators among the macroscopic electric-field, magnetic-field, and medium operators still preserve the values of their microscopic counterparts. This preservation of the equal-time commutator is important from a fundamental standpoint, such as the preservation of microcausality
© 1991 Optical Society of America
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