Photomagnetism of metals: Microscopic theory of the photoinduced surface current

Photoinduced magnetic flux has been observed recently in normal metals exposed to unpolarized visible light. This effect is partly due to the fact that the light reflected from a metal surface transfers to the conduction electrons some of its quasimomentum. This creates a dc surface current which, for an appropriate geometry, brings about the photomagnetic effect. There is another contribution to the current that is due to anisotropy of the probabilities of electron transitions induced by the light, in combination with diffuse reflection of the electrons at the surface. Both contributions are compared. The relation between them may be particularly sensitive to the polarization of the light.