http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.08666
We investigate the propagation of certain non-plane wave solutions to Maxwell’s equations in both flat and curved spacetimes. We find that the effective signal velocity associated to such solutions need not be $c$ and that the signal need not propagate along null geodesics; indeed, more than this, we find that the information encoded in the signals associated with such solutions can be substantially non-local. Having established these results, we then turn to their conceptual-philosophical-foundational significance — which, in brief, we take to be the following: (i) one should not assume that all electromagnetic waves generated in the cosmos are localised plane wave packages; thus, (ii) one cannot assume that signals reaching us from the cosmos arrive with a particular velocity (namely, $c$), and that such signals encode local information regarding their sources; therefore (iii) astrophysicists and cosmologists should be wary about making such assumptions in their inferences from obtained data — for to do so may lead to incorrect inferences regarding the nature of our universe.
F. Asenjo, S. Hojman, N. Linnemann, et. al.
Tue, 16 May 23
42/83
Comments: 16 pages, 4 figures, critical feedback welcome