Causality, Nonlocality, and Negative Refraction.

The importance of spatial nonlocality in the description of negative refraction in electromagnetic materials has been put forward recently. We develop a theory of negative refraction in homogeneous and isotropic media, based on first principles, and that includes nonlocality in its full generality. The theory shows that both dissipation and spatial nonlocality are necessary conditions for the existence of negative refraction. It also provides a sufficient condition in materials with weak spatial nonlocality. These fundamental results should have broad implications in the theoretical and practical analyses of negative refraction of electromagnetic and other kinds of waves.