On the photon anomalous magnetic moment

Abstract

It is shown that due to radiative corrections a photon having a non vanishing component of its momentum perpendicular to it, bears a non-zero magnetic moment. All modes of propagation of the polarization operator in one loop approximation are discussed and in this field regime the dispersion equation and the corresponding magnetic moment are derived. Near the first thresholds of cyclotron resonance the photon magnetic moment has a peak larger than the electron anomalous magnetic moment. Related to this magnetic moment, the arising of some sort of photon "dynamical mass" and a gyromagnetic ratio are discussed. These latter results might be interesting in an astrophysical context.