Probing global aspects of a geometry by the self-force on a charge; cylindical thin-shell wormholes

TL;DR

This paper investigates the self-force on a point charge in a cylindrical thin-shell wormhole spacetime, revealing how global geometry influences electromagnetic interactions differently than in cosmic string backgrounds.

Contribution

It provides the first analysis of self-force effects in a cylindrical thin-shell wormhole, highlighting differences from cosmic string geometries despite local similarities.

Findings

Self-force can be attractive or repulsive depending on parameters.

Global geometry affects electromagnetic self-interactions.

Self-force analysis can distinguish between different spacetime topologies.

Abstract

We obtain the self-interaction for a point charge in the space-time of a cylindrical thin-shell wormhole connecting two identical locally flat geometries with a constant deficit angle. Although this wormhole geometry is locally indistinguishable from a cosmic string background, the corresponding self-forces are different even at the qualitative level. In fact in the cosmic string geometry the force is always repulsive while for the wormhole background we find that the force may point outwards or towards the wormhole throat depending on the parameters of the configuration. These results suggest that the study of the electromagnetic fields of charged particles is a useful tool for testing the global properties of a given background.