Dark Energy Content of Nonlinear Electromagnetism

Abstract

Quasi-constant external fields in nonlinear electromagnetism generate a contribution to the energy-momentum tensor with the form of dark energy. To provide a thorough understanding of the origin and strength of the effects, we undertake a complete theoretical and numerical study of the energy-momentum tensor $T^{μν}$ for nonlinear electromagnetism. The Euler-Heisenberg nonlinearity due to quantum fluctuations of spinor and scalar matter fields is considered and contrasted with the properties of classical nonlinear Born-Infeld electromagnetism. We also address modifications of charged particle kinematics by strong background fields.

16 pages, 12 figures; reorganized introduction and sections 4 and 5, added further numerical results and discussion, updated references, fixed typos