Nonlinear electrodynamics for the vacuum of Dirac materials: Photon magnetic properties and radiation pressures

Abstract

We investigate the magnetic properties of photons propagating through Dirac materials in a magnetic field, considering both vacuum and medium contributions. Photon propagation properties are obtained through a second-order expansion of nonlinear Euler-Heisenberg electrodynamics at finite density and temperature considering Dirac material parameters (Dirac fine structure constant, band gap, and Fermi velocity). Total magnetization (including electron and photon contributions) and photon-effective magnetic moment are computed. Observables such as photon energy density, radiation pressure, and Poynting vector are obtained by an average of components of the energy-momentum tensor. All quantities are expressed in terms of Lagrangian derivatives. Those related to the vacuum are valid for any value of the external magnetic field, and both the weak- and strong-field limits are recovered. We discuss some ideas of experiments that may contribute to testing in Dirac materials the phenomenology of the strong magnetic field in the quantum electrodynamic (QED) vacuum and how nonlinear corrections on the magnetization, radiation pressure, and birefringence are amplified up to 103 times QED corrections. Published by the American Physical Society 2024