Title: Dynamical characteristics of electromagnetic field under conditions of total reflection,
Abstract: The dynamical characteristics of electromagnetic fields include energy,
momentum, angular momentum (spin) and helicity. We analyze their spatial
distributions near the planar interface between two transparent and
non-dispersive media, when the incident monochromatic plane wave with arbitrary
polarization is totally reflected, and an evanescent wave is formed in the
medium with lower optical density. Based on the recent arguments in favor of
the Minkowski definition of the electromagnetic momentum in a material medium
[Phys. Rev. A 83, 013823 (2011); 86, 055802 (2012); Phys. Rev. Lett. 119,
073901 (2017)], we derive the explicit expressions for the dynamical
characteristics in both media, with special attention to their behavior at the
interface. Especially, the "extraordinary" spin and momentum components
orthogonal to the plane of incidence are described, and the canonical (spin -
orbital) momentum decomposition is performed that contains no singular terms.
The field energy, helicity, the spin momentum and orbital momentum components
are everywhere regular but experience discontinuities at the interface; the
spin components parallel to the interface appear to be continuous, which
testifies for the consistency of the adopted Minkowski picture. The results
supply a meaningful example of the electromagnetic momentum decomposition, with
separation of spatial and polarization degrees of freedom, in inhomogeneous
media, and can be used in engineering the structured fields designed for
optical sorting, dispatching and micromanipulation.