Polar magneto-optic Kerr effect in the near-light field of a small nonmagnetic particle

A theory of elastic light scattering by a small resonantly polarizing particle located near a flat surface of a magnetic medium has been developed. The effective polarizability of the particle was calculated self-consistently taking account of the dynamic ''image forces'' in all orders of perturbation theory in the interaction of the particle with the demagnetized ferromagnet, and the magneto-optic perturbation was determined to first order in the magnetization. In the case of a ferromagnet magnetized perpendicular to the surface, the light conversion factors and the magneto-optic corrections to the transverse cross sections of all processes in which the scattering of light by a particle and the polar magneto-optic Kerr effect are elementary events, have been calculated, The results, including an analysis of the near-field contribution to light scattering, comprise the physical foundation for constructing a theory of near-field magneto-optic spectroscopy of ferromagnets and magnetic structures. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.