Macroscopic Screening of Coulomb Potentials From UV/IR-Mixing

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how UV/IR-mixing in non-commutative theories alters the static Coulomb potential, leading to exponential decay at large distances and imposing bounds on non-commutativity scales based on macroscopic observations.

Contribution

It provides the first macroscopic analysis of Coulomb potential modifications due to UV/IR-mixing in non-commutative theories, including observational bounds.

Findings

Potential decays exponentially due to UV/IR-mixing

Non-commutativity affects macroscopic physics

Lower bounds on non-commutativity scale derived

Abstract

We compute the static potential in a non-commutative theory including a term due to UV/IR-mixing. As a result, the potential decays exponentially fast with distance rather than like a power law Coulomb type potential due to the exchange of massless particles. This shows that when quantum effects are taken into account the introduction of non-commutativity not only modifies physics at short distances but has dramatic macroscopic consequences as well. As a result, we give a lower bound on the scale of non-commutativity (if present at all) to be compatible with observations.