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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.19921 |
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| _version_ | 1866917035592646656 |
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| author | Heinzl, T. King, B. Mercuri-Baron, A. |
| author_facet | Heinzl, T. King, B. Mercuri-Baron, A. |
| contents | We study the circular birefringence experienced by linearly polarised photons colliding with a circularly polarised background creating a vacuum of definite chirality (handedness). For this scenario the standard Heisenberg-Euler approach fails and must be supplemented by derivative corrections which we match to known Hilbert series. Choosing a plane wave background, we find equivalence between three approaches: (i) adding derivative corrections to the Heisenberg-Euler Lagrangian; (ii) improving the locally constant field approximation to the one-loop polarisation tensor; (iii) performing a low-energy expansion of the direct $2\to 2$ QED photon-photon scattering amplitude. Going beyond plane-wave backgrounds, we analyse an example of a circularly polarised standing wave sensitive to derivative corrections. We find a parameter regime where these corrections could be probed in experiments. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_19921 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Probing the vacuum as a chiral medium Heinzl, T. King, B. Mercuri-Baron, A. High Energy Physics - Phenomenology We study the circular birefringence experienced by linearly polarised photons colliding with a circularly polarised background creating a vacuum of definite chirality (handedness). For this scenario the standard Heisenberg-Euler approach fails and must be supplemented by derivative corrections which we match to known Hilbert series. Choosing a plane wave background, we find equivalence between three approaches: (i) adding derivative corrections to the Heisenberg-Euler Lagrangian; (ii) improving the locally constant field approximation to the one-loop polarisation tensor; (iii) performing a low-energy expansion of the direct $2\to 2$ QED photon-photon scattering amplitude. Going beyond plane-wave backgrounds, we analyse an example of a circularly polarised standing wave sensitive to derivative corrections. We find a parameter regime where these corrections could be probed in experiments. |
| title | Probing the vacuum as a chiral medium |
| topic | High Energy Physics - Phenomenology |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.19921 |