Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-condensed-matter-physics-major-option-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/5/c/i/solution
Past exam of the condensed matter physics major option course of the University of Oxford 2015 5 c i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
At zero magnetic field the two circular conductivities coincide, so an isotropic material has no magnetically induced circular birefringence. In the collisionless Drude model range the dielectric function is . A high carrier density gives a large plasma frequency, often placing the screened plasma edge in the infrared or visible range.
Below that edge the real dielectric function is negative and a transverse wave is evanescent in the bulk. The material is strongly reflecting, with penetration through a skin depth and losses set by finite . Above the plasma edge propagation becomes possible, subject to absorption and interband transitions. Carrier density alone does not specify a complete optical spectrum: the statements assume the probe frequency relative to the plasma scale and the validity of the single-band Drude model.
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