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arXiv · 2401.02522

Kinetic theory formulation of the $P$- and $CP$-odd terms in the photon self-energy in a medium

José F. Nieves·John D. Verges
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Abstract

In an optically active medium, such as a plasma that contains a neutrino background, the left-handed and right-handed polarization photon modes acquire different dispersion relations. We study the propagation of photons in such a medium, which is otherwise isotropic, within the framework of the covariant collissionless Boltzmann equation incorporating a term that parametrizes the optical activity. Using the linear response approximation, we obtain the formulas for the components of the photon polarization tensor, expressed in terms of integrals over the momentum distribution function of the background particles. The main result here is the formula for the P- and CP-breaking component of the photon polarization tensor in terms of the parameter involved in the new term we consider in the Boltzmann equation to describe the effects of optical activity. We discuss the results for some particular cases, such as long-wavelength and non-relativistic limits, for illustrate purposes. We also discuss the generalizations of the P- and CP-breaking term we included in the Boltzmann equation. In particular we consider the application to a plasma with a neutrino background and establish contact with calculations of the photon self-energy in those systems in the framework of Thermal Field Theory.

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José F. Nieves, John D. Verges. 2024-01-04. Kinetic theory formulation of the $P$- and $CP$-odd terms in the photon self-energy in a medium. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.109.056022

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