6533b863fe1ef96bd12c795e
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Gravity and handedness of photons
Iván AgullóJose Navarro-salasAdrián Del Ríosubject
PhysicsPhoton010308 nuclear & particles physicsFOS: Physical sciencesAstronomy and AstrophysicsGeneral Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)RadiationQuantum Hall effectPolarization (waves)01 natural sciencesElectromagnetic radiationGeneral Relativity and Quantum CosmologyGravitationSpace and Planetary ScienceQuantum electrodynamics0103 physical sciences010306 general physicsQuantumMathematical PhysicsQuantum fluctuationdescription
Vacuum fluctuations of quantum fields are altered in presence of a strong gravitational background, with important physical consequences. We argue that a non-trivial spacetime geometry can act as an optically active medium for quantum electromagnetic radiation, in such a way that the state of polarization of radiation changes in time, even in the absence of electromagnetic sources. This is a quantum effect, and is a consequence of an anomaly related to the classical invariance under electric-magnetic duality rotations in Maxwell theory.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-05-19 |