Modifications of the Schwarzschild null geodesics in effective field theories

Abstract

In this paper the dynamics of Schwarzschild null geodesics in the context of low-energy effective field theories incorporating some interactions violating the equivalence principle is examined. Nonperturbed geodesics are expressed in terms of a convenient set of constants called orbital elements. The modifications introduced by the effective interactions are treated as small perturbations, then the method of variation of parameters is employed to find the evolution of the orbital elements for the true worldlines. We next focus our discussion on the geometry of nondispersive photon orbits and highlight the importance of different orbital elements in long-term change of the orbit. This calculation shows that nondispersive forces acting on null geodesics drive a secular growth of the positional elements. As an application of our results we examine the evolution of mean orbital elements in the semiclassical theory of quantum gravitational optics and show that the averaged correction terms are within the range of the uncertainty principle.