Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves in Neutron Star

TL;DR

This paper investigates how electromagnetic waves propagate in neutron star matter, revealing the development of longitudinal components and modified electromagnetic properties using quantum electrodynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a QED-based analysis of EM wave behavior in neutron star matter, including derivation of permittivity, permeability, and refractive index in dense media.

Findings

EM waves develop longitudinal components in dense neutron star matter.

Electromagnetic properties are significantly modified by the medium.

Expressions for permittivity, permeability, and refractive index are derived.

Abstract

Propagation properties of electromagnetic (EM) waves in the dense medium of neutron star are studied. It is pointed out that EM waves develop a longitudinal component when they propagate in such a dense medium. Renormalization scheme of quantum electrodynamics (QED) is used to investigate the behavior of EM waves in transverse and longitudinal directions. Medium response to EM waves indicates that the electromagnetic properties of the dense material are modified as a result of the interaction of EM waves with the matter. Using QED, expressions for the electromagnetic properties such as electric permittivity, magnetic permeability and the refractive index of dense matter are obtained. The results are applied to a particular star for illustration.