Article
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QED Response of the Vacuum
Version 1
: Received: 1 December 2019 / Approved: 3 December 2019 / Online: 3 December 2019 (03:41:05 CET)
How to cite: Leuchs, G.; Hawton, M.; Sanchez-Soto, L. QED Response of the Vacuum. Preprints 2019, 2019120013. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201912.0013.v1 Leuchs, G.; Hawton, M.; Sanchez-Soto, L. QED Response of the Vacuum. Preprints 2019, 2019120013. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201912.0013.v1
Abstract
We present a new perspective of the link between QED and Maxwell's equations. We demonstrate that the interpretation of $\mathbf{D}=\varepsilon_{0} \mathbf{E}$ as vacuum polarization is consistent with QED. A free electromagnetic field polarizes the vacuum, but the polarization and magnetization currents cancel giving zero source current. The speed of light is a universal constant, while the fine structure constant, which couples the electromagnetic field to matter, runs as it should.
Keywords
quantum vacuum; Linear response; QED
Subject
Physical Sciences, Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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