Eur. Phys. J. C (2006) 46: 247-254
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s2006-02483-0

Theoretical Physics

Lorentz symmetry breaking and planar effects from non-linear electrodynamics

¹ Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT/UNESP), Rua Pamplona 145, Bela Vista, 01405-900, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
² Coordenação de Física Experimental de Altas Energias (LAFEX), Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas (CBPF), Rua Dr. Xavier Sigaud 150, Urca, 22290-180, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

^* e-mail: botta@cbpf.br

Received: 18 June 2005
Revised: 30 November 2005
Published online: 13 March 2006

Abstract

We propose a modification of standard linear electrodynamics in four dimensions, where effective non-trivial interactions of the electromagnetic field with itself and with matter fields induce Lorentz violating Chern–Simons terms. This yields two consequences: it provides a more realistic and general scenario for the breakdown of Lorentz symmetry in electromagnetism and it may explain the effective behavior of the electromagnetic field in certain planar phenomena (for instance, Hall effect). A number of proposals for non-linear electrodynamics is discussed along the paper. Important physical implications of the breaking of Lorentz symmetry, such as optical birefringence and the possibility of having conductance in the vacuum are commented on.