Global and local perspectives of gravitationally assisted negative-phase-velocity propagation of electromagnetic waves in vacuum

Abstract

Consistently with the Einstein equivalence principle and using an electromagnetic formulation first suggested by Tamm, we show that a local observer cannot observe negative-phase-velocity (NPV) propagation of electromagnetic waves in vacuum, whereas a global observer can appreciate that phenomenon. Using the specific example of the Kerr metric, we also demonstrate the possibility of NPV propagation within the ergosphere of a rotating black hole.