Unified theory to describe and engineer conservation laws in light-matter interactions

Abstract

We present a unified theory to treat conservation laws in light-matter interactions. It can be used to describe and engineer the transfer of any measurable property from the electromagnetic field to any object. The theory allows to explicitly characterize and separately compute the transfer due to asymmetry of the object and the transfer due to field absorption by the object. It also allows to compute the upper bound of the transfer rate of any given property to any given object, together with the corresponding most efficient illumination which achieves the bound. Due to its algebraic nature, the approach is inherently suited for computer implementation.

Small title modification. Some figures have changed after fixing an error in the calculations. Some more discussion on the asymmetry and absorption mediated transfers has been added just before Sec. III A