Measuring a piecewise constant axion field in classical electrodynamics

In order to settle the problem of the "Post constraint" in material media, we consider the propagation of a plane electromagnetic wave in a medium with a piecewise constant axion field. Although a constant axion field does not affect the wave propagation in a homogeneous medium, we show that the reflection and transmission of a wave at an interface between the two media is sensitive to the difference of the axion values. This observation can be used to determine experimentally the axion piece in matter despite the fact that a constant axion value does not contribute to the Maxwell equations. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.