Adiabatic Faraday effect in a two-level Hamiltonian formalism

TL;DR

This paper explores the adiabatic Faraday effect, where photon helicity flips in a magnetized plasma with reversing B-fields, using a two-level Hamiltonian approach similar to neutrino oscillations.

Contribution

It introduces a two-level Hamiltonian formalism to analyze the adiabatic Faraday effect, providing clearer physical insights and examining transitions at various adiabaticities.

Findings

Photon helicity can flip due to adiabatic B-field reversal.

The formalism clarifies the transition dynamics at intermediate adiabaticities.

Provides a framework analogous to neutrino flavor oscillations.

Abstract

The helicity of a photon traversing a magnetized plasma can flip when the B-field along the trajectory slowly reverses. Broderick and Blandford have recently shown that this intriguing effect can profoundly change the usual Faraday effect for radio waves. We study this phenomenon in a formalism analogous to neutrino flavor oscillations: the evolution is governed by a Schroedinger equation for a two-level system consisting of the two photon helicities. Our treatment allows for a transparent physical understanding of this system and its dynamics. In particular, it allows us to investigate the nature of transitions at intermediate adiabaticities.