Physics – High Energy Physics – High Energy Physics - Theory
Scientific paper
2008-06-05
JHEP 0812:091,2008
Physics
High Energy Physics
High Energy Physics - Theory
54 pages, 19 figures, corrected some signs in formulae and graphs
Scientific paper
10.1088/1126-6708/2008/12/091
The effect of vacuum polarization on the propagation of photons in curved spacetime is studied in scalar QED. A compact formula is given for the full frequency dependence of the refractive index for any background in terms of the Van Vleck-Morette matrix for its Penrose limit and it is shown how the superluminal propagation found in the low-energy effective action is reconciled with causality. The geometry of null geodesic congruences is found to imply a novel analytic structure for the refractive index and Green functions of QED in curved spacetime, which preserves their causal nature but violates familiar axioms of S-matrix theory and dispersion relations. The general formalism is illustrated in a number of examples, in some of which it is found that the refractive index develops a negative imaginary part, implying an amplification of photons as an electromagnetic wave propagates through curved spacetime.
Hollowood Timothy J.
Shore Graham M.
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