Graviton-photon conversions in Euler-Heisenberg nonlinear electrodynamics

TL;DR

This paper investigates how nonlinear electrodynamics effects, specifically Euler-Köckel-Heisenberg corrections, influence graviton-photon conversions in magnetic fields, revealing birefringence and parity violation phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of graviton-photon conversion considering nonlinear electrodynamics, highlighting parity violation and birefringence effects in a uniform magnetic field.

Findings

Nonlinear corrections induce birefringence for gravitational waves.

Parity-violating effects depend on photon treatment methods.

Effective birefringence arises due to nonlinear electrodynamics.

Abstract

We study graviton-photon conversions in an environment of the uniform and constant magnetic field considering Euler-K\"ockel-Heisenberg-type nonlinear corrections in electrodynamics. We take the transverse-tracefree gauge for gravitons and employ both the field potential and the electric and magnetic (EM) fields for photons. The nonlinear correction causes parity violating (chiral) graviton propagation equations, which depend on the two treatments for photons. Thus, the medium becomes effectively birefringent for two polarizations of gravitational waves similar to the photon birefringence a characteristic of the nonlinear correction. In the presence of gravity, due to the nontrivial relation between the potential and EM fields, it is important to present the result using the EM fields.