Magnetic field contribution to the Lorentz model

J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis. 2006 Jul;23(7):1751-6. doi: 10.1364/josaa.23.001751.

Abstract

The classical Lorentz model of dielectric dispersion is based on the microscopic Lorentz force relation and Newton's second law of motion for an ensemble of harmonically bound electrons. The magnetic field contribution in the Lorentz force relation is neglected because it is typically small in comparison with the electric field contribution. Inclusion of this term leads to a microscopic polarization density that contains both perpendicular and parallel components relative to the plane wave propagation vector. The modified parallel and perpendicular polarizabilities are both nonlinear in the local electric field strength.