Higgs Mechanism and Debye Screening in the Generalized Electrodynamics

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the Higgs mechanism and Debye screening affect the Bopp-Podolsky generalized electrodynamics, revealing mass modifications and potential experimental detection conditions.

Contribution

It demonstrates that both massless and massive sectors of the Bopp-Podolsky theory are affected by these phenomena, establishing a mathematical analogy between the two mechanisms.

Findings

Mass acquisition in both phenomena for the massless sector.

Alteration of the massive sector's mass due to these effects.

Identification of a temperature where the gauge field could be experimentally detected.

Abstract

In this work we study the Higgs mechanism and the Debye shielding for the Bopp-Podolsky theory of electrodynamics. We find that not only the massless sector of the Podolsky theory acquires a mass in both these phenomena, but also that its massive sector has its mass changed. Furthermore, we find a mathematical analogy in the way these masses change between these two mechanisms. Besides exploring the behaviour of the screened potentials, we find a temperature for which the presence of the generalized gauge field may be experimentally detected.