Constitutive relations

In order to apply Maxwell's equations (the formulation in terms of free/bound charge and current
using D and H), it is necessary to specify the relations between D and E, and H and B.

Finding relations between these fields is another way to say that to solve Maxwell's equations by
employing the free/bound partition of charges and currents, one needs the properties of the
materials relating the response of bound currents and bound charges to the fields applied to these
materials.[note 4] These relations may be empirical (based directly upon measurements), or
theoretical (based upon statistical mechanics, transport theory or other tools of condensed matter
physics). The detail employed may be macroscopic or microscopic, depending upon the level
necessary to the problem under scrutiny. These material properties specifying the response of
bound charge and current to the field are called constitutive relations, and correspond physically
to how much polarization and magnetization a material acquires in the presence of
electromagnetic fields.

Once the responses of bound currents and charges are related to the fields, Maxwell's equations
can be fully formulated in terms of the E- and B-fields alone, with only the free charges and
currents appearing explicitly in the equations.

[edit] Case without magnetic or dielectric materials

In the absence of magnetic or dielectric materials, the relations are simple:

where ε0 and μ0 are two universal constants, called the permittivity of free space and permeability
of free space, respectively.

[edit] Case of linear materials

In a linear, isotropic, nondispersive, uniform material, the relations are also straightforward:

where ε and μ are constants (which depend on the material), called the permittivity and
permeability, respectively, of the material.

[edit] General case

For real-world materials, the constitutive relations are not simple proportionalities, except
approximately. The relations can usually still be written:
but ε and μ are not, in general, simple constants, but rather functions. For example, ε and μ can
depend upon:

 The strength of the fields (leading to linear effects, e.g. the magneto-optic effect and bi-
(an)isotropy, and nonlinearity, which occurs when ε and μ are functions of E and B; see,
for example, Kerr and Pockels effects),
 The direction of the fields (the case of anisotropy, birefringence, or dichroism; which
occurs when ε and μ are second-rank tensors),
 The frequency with which the fields vary (the case of dispersion, which occurs when ε
and μ are functions of frequency; see, for example, Kramers–Kronig relations).

If further there are dependencies on:

 The position inside the material (the case of a nonuniform material, which occurs when
the response of the material varies from point to point within the material, an effect called
spatial inhomogeneity; for example in a domained structure, heterostructure or a liquid
crystal, or most commonly in the situation where there are simply multiple materials
occupying different regions of space),
 The history of the fields—in a linear time-invariant material, this is equivalent to the
material dispersion mentioned above (a frequency dependence of the ε and μ), which
after Fourier transforming turns into a convolution with the fields at past times,
expressing a non-instantaneous response of the material to an applied field; in a nonlinear
or time-varying medium, the time-dependent response can be more complicated, such as
the example of a hysteresis response,

then the constitutive relations take a more complicated form:[17][18]

in which the permittivity and permeability functions are replaced by integrals over the more
general electric and magnetic susceptibilities.

It may be noted that man-made materials can be designed to have customized permittivity and
permeability, such as metamaterials and photonic crystals.