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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/2512.15731 |
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| _version_ | 1866918276240506880 |
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| author | Ramsey, D. Formanek, M. S. Palastro, J. P. |
| author_facet | Ramsey, D. Formanek, M. S. Palastro, J. P. |
| contents | Electromagnetic waves propagating through vacuum can polarize virtual electron-positron pairs; this polarization, in turn, nonlinearly modifies their propagation. A semi-classical nonlinear wave equation describing the propagation is derived from the Euler--Heisenberg Lagrangian density, which captures vacuum polarization effects up to the one-loop level. Here, we present a reduced-action-integral approach that enables rapid modeling of nonlinear phenomena arising from the Euler--Heisenberg Lagrangian. Application of the variational principle to the reduced action provides equations of motion for familiar light-pulse parameters, such as spot size, phase, polarization, and phase-front curvature, without requiring full-field simulations. Three examples demonstrate the utility of the approach: phase modulation, birefringence, and frequency mixing. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_15731 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A Reduced Action Integral for Photon-Photon Interactions in Vacuum Ramsey, D. Formanek, M. S. Palastro, J. P. Optics High Energy Physics - Phenomenology Electromagnetic waves propagating through vacuum can polarize virtual electron-positron pairs; this polarization, in turn, nonlinearly modifies their propagation. A semi-classical nonlinear wave equation describing the propagation is derived from the Euler--Heisenberg Lagrangian density, which captures vacuum polarization effects up to the one-loop level. Here, we present a reduced-action-integral approach that enables rapid modeling of nonlinear phenomena arising from the Euler--Heisenberg Lagrangian. Application of the variational principle to the reduced action provides equations of motion for familiar light-pulse parameters, such as spot size, phase, polarization, and phase-front curvature, without requiring full-field simulations. Three examples demonstrate the utility of the approach: phase modulation, birefringence, and frequency mixing. |
| title | A Reduced Action Integral for Photon-Photon Interactions in Vacuum |
| topic | Optics High Energy Physics - Phenomenology |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.15731 |