Momento electromagnético, efectos cuánticos y la masa del fotón

Abstract

We review the role of the momentum of the electromagnetic (EM) fields $\mathbf{P}_{e}$ in several areas of modern physics, revising the most recent achievements and its relationship with $\mathbf{P}_{e}$. The moment $\mathbf{P}_{e}$ represents the EM interaction in equations for matter and light waves propagation. As an application of wave propagation properties, a first order optical experiment which tests the speed of light in moving rarefied gases is presented. Moreover, $\mathbf{P}_{e}$ is the link to the unitary vision of the quantum effects of the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) type and, for several of these effects, the explicit expression of $\mathbf{P}_{e}$ is evaluated. Finally, these effects provide a quantum approach to evaluate the limit of the photon mass~$m_{ph}$. A new effect of the AB type, together with the scalar AB effect, provides the basis for table-top experiments which yield the limit $m_{ph}\simeq9.4\times10^{-52}$g, a value that improves the results achieved with recent classical and quantum approaches.