Magnetar Offers Strongest Evidence Yet for ‘Non-Empty’ Space

Recently, astronomers studying the magnetar 1E 1547.0-5408 found some of the strongest evidence yet for vacuum birefringence - a quantum effect in which apparently empty space influences the passage of light. The finding could provide an important observational test of quantum electrodynamics (QED) under extreme conditions.

What is Vacuum Birefringence?

  • According to quantum theory, a vacuum is not completely empty. It is permeated by fleeting virtual particle–antiparticle pairs.
  • In the presence of an extraordinarily strong magnetic field, these quantum fluctuations can alter how light propagates through space. Light of different polarisation states may effectively travel differently through the vacuum—an effect known ....
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