On the Influence of Earth’s Rotation on Electromagnetic Waves

Date: February 21, 2020
Time: 10:45 CET
Event: 10th Central European Relativity Seminar (CERS10)
Location: Potsdam, Germany

Abstract: I discuss the influence of Earth’s rotation on the propagation of light in optical media. (The discussion equally applies to Earth’s rotation about its own axis and around the Sun.) To this end, we shall consider Maxwell’s equations in slowly rotating systems in suitable coordinates. For simplicity and with regard to planned experiments at the University of Vienna, I will focus on light propagation in cylindrical step-index waveguides, for which I shall discuss the main perturbations, namely the correction to the dispersion relation and a weak coupling of optical modes with different angular frequency. The former allows to compute phase differences in laser interferometers, allowing for comparison with other effects, such as gravitationally induced phase shifts.

Relevant publication: On the influence of Earth’s rotation on light propagation in waveguides.