On Analytic Properties of the Photon Polarization Function in a Background Magnetic Field

Abstract

We examine the analytic properties of the photon polarization function in a background magnetic field, using the technique of inverse Mellin transform. The photon polarization function is first expressed as a power series of the photon energy $\omega$ with $\omega< 2m_e$. Based upon this energy expansion and the branch cut of the photon polarization function in the complex $\omega$ plane, we compute the absorptive part of the polarization function with the inverse Mellin transform. Our results are valid for arbitrary photon energies and magnetic-field strengths. The applications of our approach are briefly discussed.