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Full-Text Articles in Physics
Coupling Right- And Left-Handed Photons Differently To Charged Matter, Brett David Altschul
Coupling Right- And Left-Handed Photons Differently To Charged Matter, Brett David Altschul
Faculty Publications
We consider a modification of electrodynamics in which right- and left-circularly polarized photons are coupled to charged sources differently. Even though photon helicity is a Lorentz invariant quantity, such a modification breaks Lorentz symmetry, as well as locality. The modified theory includes novel magnetic forces between perpendicular currents. Existing data can be used to constrain the modification at approximately a 2 x 10^(-3) level.
Lorentz Violation And The Higgs Mechanism, Brett David Altschul
Lorentz Violation And The Higgs Mechanism, Brett David Altschul
Faculty Publications
We consider scalar quantum electrodynamics in the Higgs phase and in the presence of Lorentz violation. Spontaneous breaking of the gauge symmetry gives rise to Lorentz-violating gauge field mass terms. These may cause the longitudinal mode of the gauge field to propagate superluminally. The theory may be quantized by the Faddeev-Popov procedure, although the Lagrangian for the ghost fields also needs to be Lorentz violating.