Is diamagnetism really acausal?

Diamagnetism, in which the magnetisation in a medium opposes the direction of an applied magnetic field, is a weak but familiar effect in a wide class of materials. Being weak it is also a linear response to any applied field. The problem is that the existence of diamagnetism is in direct conflict with the requirements of causality as embodied in the familiar Kramers-Kronig relations. Nature does not care about our confusion and diamagnetism exists and physics is constrained by the requirements of causality (that effect cannot precede its cause). This puzzle has received attention from time to time, with a variety of arguments made to resolve the paradox. None of these, no matter how plausible, reveal the mechanism that resolves the existence of diamagnetism without sacrificing causality. The full resolution is presented in this letter.

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Publication Details

Journal
Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology)
Published
2025-08-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/adf3e1/pdf
Primary Topic
Quantum and Classical Electrodynamics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Is diamagnetism really acausal?

Niclas Westerberg, Stephen M. Barnett
Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology)
Quantum and Classical Electrodynamics
article

Is diamagnetism really acausal?

Niclas Westerberg, Stephen M. Barnett
article en

Abstract

Diamagnetism, in which the magnetisation in a medium opposes the direction of an applied magnetic field, is a weak but familiar effect in a wide class of materials. Being weak it is also a linear response to any applied field. The problem is that the existence of diamagnetism is in direct conflict with the requirements of causality as embodied in the familiar Kramers-Kronig relations. Nature does not care about our confusion and diamagnetism exists and physics is constrained by the requirements of causality (that effect cannot precede its cause). This puzzle has received attention from time to time, with a variety of arguments made to resolve the paradox. None of these, no matter how plausible, reveal the mechanism that resolves the existence of diamagnetism without sacrificing causality. The full resolution is presented in this letter.

Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology)
Openalex Percentile: Top 28%
Quantum and Classical Electrodynamics
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