The quantum vacuum in electromagnetic fields: From the Heisenberg-Euler effective action to vacuum birefringence
High Energy Physics - Theory
2016-12-02 v1 High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Abstract
The focus of these lectures is on the quantum vacuum subjected to classical electromagnetic fields. To this end we explicitly derive the renowned Heisenberg-Euler effective action in constant electromagnetic fields in a rather pedagogical and easy to conceive way. As an application, we use it to study vacuum birefringence constituting one of the most promising optical signatures of quantum vacuum nonlinearity.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1611.09883,
title = {The quantum vacuum in electromagnetic fields: From the Heisenberg-Euler effective action to vacuum birefringence},
author = {Felix Karbstein},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1611.09883},
year = {2016}
}
Comments
14 pages, 6 figures; Lectures given at the Helmholtz International Summer School (HISS) - Dubna International Advanced School of Theoretical Physics (DIAS-TH): "Quantum Field Theory at the Limits: from Strong Fields to Heavy Quarks", July 2016