Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves in Neutron Star

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.