Propagation of Light in a Hot and Dense Medium

Abstract

Photons, as quanta of electromagnetic fields, determine the electromagnetic properties of an extremely hot and dense medium. Considering the properties of photons in the interacting medium of charged particles, we explicitly calculate the electromagnetic properties such as the electric permittivity, magnetic permeability, refractive index and the propagation speed of electromagnetic signals in extremely hot and dense background in cosmos. Photons acquire dynamically generated mass in a medium. The screening mass of photon, Debye shielding length and the plasma frequency are calculated as functions of statistical parameters of the medium. We study the properties of the propagating particles in astrophysical systems of distinct statistical conditions. The modifications in the medium properties lead to the equation of state of the system. We mainly calculate all these parameters for extremely high temperatures of the early universe.