Neutrino and Photon Propagation in a Medium with External Fields

这个项目扩展并继续了先前关于光子和中微子在介质中的行为的工作。要进行的具体计算包括：(1)由于中微子的物质感应电磁耦合的影响，磁场的存在对中微子阻尼率的影响。这些与中微子混合无关的效应，可能为脉冲星的爆发提供了机制；(2)在一种介质中，除了通常的带电粒子背景外，还有一个相对于静止背景整体运动的中微子背景，光子自能的虚部（由此决定光子阻尼率）。这种类型的系统被认为与超新星爆炸中的能量产生机制有关；(3)利用外平面波场介质中的光子自能研究手性效应。这是热场理论方法在光学和凝聚态物理中的新应用。光子和中微子在介质中的特性，以及它们之间的相互作用，多年来一直是人们关注的主题，因为它们提供了它们发生的环境中潜在过程的信息。这些信息在各种天体物理和宇宙学情况下以及在凝聚态物质和物理光学实验室实验中都是重要的。除了这个项目中特定计算和物理环境的具体细节之外，这些问题的处理涉及到在其他物理学分支中有用的思想、方法和技术。

This project extends and continues previous work on the behavior of photons and neutrinos in a medium. Concrete calculations to be performed include: (1) The effects of the presence of a magnetic field on neutrino damping rates due to the effects of the matter-induced electromagnetic couplings of the neutrino. These effect, independent of neutrino mixing, could provide a mechanism for pulsar kicks; (2) The imaginary part of the photon self-energy (from which the photon damping rate is determined)in a medium that contains, besides the usual background of charged particles, a background of neutrinos that moves, as a whole, relative to the stationary background. This type of system has been considered in connection with energy generation mechanisms in supernova explosions; (3) The photon self-energy in a medium with an external plane wave field to study chirality effects. This is a novel application of thermal field theory methods in the context of optical and condensed matter physics.The properties of photons and neutrinos in a medium, and their interactions, have been the subjects of continuous attention over the years because of they provide information about underlying processes in the environments in which they occur. This information can be important in various astrophysical and cosmological situations and in condensed matter and physical optics laboratory experiments. Apart from the details that are specific to the particular calculations and physical contexts of the calculations in this project, the treatment of these problems involve ideas, methods and techniques that can be useful in other branches of physics.