Chiral Maxwell-Garnett mixing formula

Abstract

The Maxwell-Garnett mixing formula, previously well known for dielectric mixtures, is generalised for the first time to cover chiral materials. The mixing formula expresses the permittivity, permeability and chirality of a two-component mixture with spherical inclusions as functions of the material parameters of the components. The result gives the classical Maxwell-Garnett formula as a special case. The mixing formula can be applied for the design of chiral composites that have attracted keen interest in recent years.