Birefringent light propagation on anisotropic cosmological backgrounds
Abstract
Exact electromagnetic wave solutions to Maxwell equations on anisotropic Bianchi I cosmological spacetime backgrounds are studied. The waves evolving on Bianchi I spacetimes exhibit birefringence (associated to linear polarization) and dispersion. The particular case of a vacuum--dominated anisotropic Universe, which reproduces a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker Universe (for late times) while for earlier times it matches a Kasner Universe, is studied. The electromagnetic waves do not, in general, follow null geodesics. This produces a modification of the cosmological redshift, which is now dependent on light polarization and dispersion and its non-null geodesic behavior. New results presented here may help to tackle some issues related to the "horizon" problem.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1703.02579,
title = {Birefringent light propagation on anisotropic cosmological backgrounds},
author = {Felipe A. Asenjo and Sergio A. Hojman},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1703.02579},
year = {2017}
}
Comments
Accepted in Physical Review D