Vacuum Polarization, Geodesic Equation and Sachs-Wolfe Effect
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866915402227908608 |
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| author | Kaya, Ali |
| author_facet | Kaya, Ali |
| contents | We show that the null geodesic equation for photons is modified in the presence of a charged scalar field, with quantum fluctuations acting as an effective mass term that changes the null paths to timelike curves. This effect can be interpreted as a vacuum polarization phenomenon in curved spacetime. The resulting contribution to the Sachs-Wolfe effect varies with photon frequency, leading to frequency-dependent corrections to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) blackbody spectrum in the form of a $μ$-distortion, as well as modifications to the CMB power spectrum. We estimate these within a standard inflationary scenario and find that while the correction to the CMB power spectrum is significant when the scalar field is light, the magnitude of the $μ$-distortion depends strongly on the regularization prescription. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_08748 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Vacuum Polarization, Geodesic Equation and Sachs-Wolfe Effect Kaya, Ali Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology High Energy Physics - Theory We show that the null geodesic equation for photons is modified in the presence of a charged scalar field, with quantum fluctuations acting as an effective mass term that changes the null paths to timelike curves. This effect can be interpreted as a vacuum polarization phenomenon in curved spacetime. The resulting contribution to the Sachs-Wolfe effect varies with photon frequency, leading to frequency-dependent corrections to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) blackbody spectrum in the form of a $μ$-distortion, as well as modifications to the CMB power spectrum. We estimate these within a standard inflationary scenario and find that while the correction to the CMB power spectrum is significant when the scalar field is light, the magnitude of the $μ$-distortion depends strongly on the regularization prescription. |
| title | Vacuum Polarization, Geodesic Equation and Sachs-Wolfe Effect |
| topic | Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology High Energy Physics - Theory |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.08748 |