EQUIVALENCY OF THE CASIMIR AND THE LANDAU-LIFSHITZ APPROACHES TO CONTINUOUS-MEDIA ELECTRODYNAMICS AND OPTICAL-ACTIVITY ON REFLECTION

The controversial discussion on the existence of the specular optical activity phenomenon is reexamined. We prove here that the effect is pr edicted by approaches based both on the Casimir and the Landau-Lifshit z material equations and that these equations are in fact equivalent i f crucial terms containing the derivatives of the nonlocal susceptibil ities are taken into account in the derivation. Polarization azimuth r otation in the reflected wave of the scale 2 X 10(-6)-2 X 10(-4) rad m ay be expected in absorbing optically active crystals. We also show th at specular optical activity is intrinsically linked with the transmis sion effect.