Graviton–photon conversions in Euler–Heisenberg nonlinear electrodynamics

Abstract

We study graviton–photon conversions in an environment of the uniform and constant magnetic field considering Euler–Köckel–Heisenberg-type nonlinear corrections in electrodynamics. We take the transverse-tracefree gauge for gravitons and employ both the field potential and the electric and magnetic (EM) fields for photons. The nonlinear correction causes parity violating (chiral) graviton propagation equations, which depend on the two treatments for photons. Thus, the medium becomes effectively birefringent for two polarizations of gravitational waves similar to the photon birefringence, a characteristic of the nonlinear correction. In the presence of gravity, due to the nontrivial relation between the potential and EM fields, it is important to present the result using the EM fields.