Inverse Faraday effect in plasmas

The Kubo response-function formalism is utilized to obtain expressions for the magnetization created in a plasma by a circularly polarized electromagnetic wave. This effect, the inverse Faraday effect, has previously been studied only in the dipole approximation. The present treatment includes plasma polarization effects and allows consideration of the thermal motion and relativistic effects associated with high-powered laser radiation. A physical interpretation of the results is presented in which the angular momentum stored in the plasma is shown to be the basis of the effect.