Topological Relics of Infrared QED in the Rayleigh-Jeans Regime

Abstract

We revisit infrared Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) by reformulating the dressing of charged states in terms of a functional Berry connection. In this framework, the electron--photon cloud acquires a topological character, leading to a modification of the Rayleigh-Jeans limit of blackbody radiation. The deviation is controlled by a dimensionless parameter $\epsilon$, estimated as $\epsilon \simeq (1.7$--$2.3)\times 10^{-3}$ in the $80$-$110~\mathrm{GHz}$ range, corresponding to a fractional shift of $\sim 0.2\%$. This effect lies within the sensitivity of current high-precision radiometry and, being system-independent, should be observable both in laboratory blackbody spectra and in the cosmic microwave background.