Direct-coupling lensing by antisymmetric tensor monopoles

Abstract

We discuss the effects of a direct coupling between a rank-two antisymmetric tensor field and the Maxwell field. The coupling we consider leads to vacuum birefringence, allowing us to place constraints on the magnitude of the tensor field and the strength of its coupling to the Maxwell field via cosmological birefringence measurements. For light propagating in the presence of a topological defect solution, we find that light rays with different polarizations will follow different trajectories; the magnitude of this deflection is predicted to be extremely small (on the order of 10^-10 arcseconds). We discuss the plausibility of this phenomenon as a method for detection of these monopoles, along with the applicability of our methods to other possible couplings between the tensor field and the Maxwell field.