Testing CPT- and Lorentz-odd electrodynamics with waveguides

TL;DR

This paper investigates how CPT- and Lorentz-odd modifications to electrodynamics affect wave propagation in waveguides, revealing detectable effects that could serve as experimental tests for symmetry violations.

Contribution

It demonstrates that specific background fields cause large, observable changes in waveguide spectra, proposing a practical method to detect CPT- and Lorentz-odd effects.

Findings

Transverse electric modes propagate with altered spectra.

Transverse magnetic modes are suppressed under certain conditions.

Waveguides can be used as sensitive probes for symmetry violations.

Abstract

We study CPT- and Lorentz-odd electrodynamics described by the Standard Model Extension. Its radiation is confined to the geometry of hollow conductor waveguide, open along $z$. In a special class of reference frames, with vanishing both 0-th and $z$ components of the background field, $(k_{\rm AF})^\mu$, we realize a number of {\em huge and macroscopically detectable} effects on the confined waves spectra, compared to standard results. Particularly, if $(k_{\rm AF})^\mu$ points along $x$ (or $y$) direction only transverse electric modes, with $E_z=0$, should be observed propagating throughout the guide, while all the transverse magnetic, $B_z=0$, are absent. Such a strong mode suppression makes waveguides quite suitable to probe these symmetry violations using a simple and easily reproducible apparatus.