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arxiv: 0808.2955 · v4 · submitted 2008-08-21 · ✦ hep-ph

Is the photon paramagnetic?

classification ✦ hep-ph
keywords magneticphotonthresholdfirstgammacreationfieldmoment
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A photon exhibits a tiny anomalous magnetic moment $\mu_{\gamma}$ due to its interaction with an external constant magnetic field in vacuum through the virtual electron-positron background. It is paramagnetic ($\mu_{\gamma}>0$) in the whole region of transparency, i.e. below the first threshold energy for pair creation and has a maximum near this threshold. The photon magnetic moment is different for eigenmodes polarized along and perpendicular to the magnetic field. Explicit expressions are given for $\mu_{\gamma}$ for the cases of photon energies smaller and closer to the first pair creation threshold. The region beyond the first threshold is briefly discussed.

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