arXiv subjects

Kimihiro Nomura

Publications and source records attributed to Kimihiro Nomura.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Photon evolution through light-particle conversion in stochastic magnetic fields: Kramers--Kronig relations and universality

We study photon conversion into light particles, such as dilatons, axions, and gravitons, induced by background magnetic fields, and formulate the resulting evolution in terms of the Stokes parameters. We show that photon conversion reduces to an effective non-unitary evolution of the photon sector. In the perturbative regime, the Hermitian and anti-Hermitian parts of the effective photon Hamiltonian are related through Kramers--Kronig relations, revealing that the changes in the Stokes parameters are not independent. We apply this general framework to photon evolution in Gaussian stochastic magnetic fields with possible helicity, and derive the ensemble-averaged evolution of the Stokes parameters. We find that two nonzero contributions arise even in the absence of magnetic helicity, which respectively correspond to the overall attenuation of all the Stokes parameters and to an irrelevant overall phase. We also find that magnetic helicity gives rise to two additional contributions, one of which changes the circular polarization while the other induces a rotation of linear polarization. These contributions form two Kramers--Kronig pairs. In particular, photon conversion induced by magnetic helicity is accompanied by both circular-polarization and birefringent responses. The same structure appears in dilaton-photon, axion-photon, and graviton-photon systems, revealing universality of photon conversion in magnetic fields.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Violation of the Leggett-Garg inequality in photon-graviton conversion

The Leggett-Garg inequality (LGI) is a temporal analogue of Bell's inequality and provides a quantitative test of the nonclassicality of a system through its violation. We analytically investigate the violation of the LGI in the context of photon-graviton conversion in a magnetic field background, motivated by its potential applications to testing the nonclassicality of gravity. When gravitational perturbations are quantized as gravitons, the conversion of an initial single photon state gives rise to a superposition of photon and graviton states. We show that the temporal correlations obtained from successive projective measurements on the photon-graviton system violate the LGI. Observation of such a violation would provide a novel avenue for probing the quantum nature of gravity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

Axion-photon conversion in stochastic magnetic fields

We investigate axion-photon conversion in stochastic magnetic fields, focusing on the evolution of the photon intensity and polarizations induced by conversion into axions. Assuming Gaussian magnetic fields characterized by the power spectra of their helical/non-helical components, we express the expectation values and variances of the photon intensity and linear/circular polarizations after conversion in terms of these spectra. We find nontrivial dependencies of these statistical quantities on the characteristic magnetic field correlation length, the propagation distance, and the axion mass. Moreover, we find that nontrivial polarizations emerge even if the photons are initially unpolarized, that the variances of these observables become suppressed in specific frequency regions, and that a peak structure arises in the expectation value of the circular polarization in the presence of statistically helical magnetic fields. We also point out consistency relations among these statistical quantities that hold independently of the specific forms of the magnetic field power spectra.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Reflection polarization of close binaries as a probe of axion dark matter birefringence

We propose close binary polarimetry as a probe of birefringence induced by ultralight axion dark matter. In a close binary, reflection or scattering can generate a small linear polarization whose time dependence is locked to the orbital phase. This phase-locked polarization provides a template against which an oscillatory rotation of the polarization angle induced by the axion can be searched for. We show that axion birefringence appears as sidebands around the orbital harmonics. For a single bright binary, with parameters motivated by observed systems and current high-precision optical polarimetry, we estimate the sensitivity to the axion-photon coupling under white noise assumption to be the level of $10^{-12}$ GeV$^{-1}$ at an axion mass of $10^{-20}$ eV. A future array of suitable binaries could further improve the sensitivity to $10^{-13}$ GeV$^{-1}$ in an optimistic scenario. This method could provide a complementary high-cadence optical probe of axion birefringence, compared to existing astrophysical searches.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Searching for dark photon dark matter from terrestrial magnetic fields

We present a novel search for dark photon dark matter (DM) using terrestrial magnetic field measurements at frequencies below 100 Hz. Coherently oscillating dark photon DM can induce a monochromatic magnetic field via kinetic mixing with ordinary photons. Notably, for dark photon masses $m_{A'}$ around $3 \times 10^{-14}$ eV, the signal can be resonantly amplified within a cavity formed by the Earth's surface and the ionosphere. We compute the expected signal incorporating the effect of atmospheric conductivity, and derive new upper limits on the kinetic mixing parameter $\varepsilon$ from long-term geomagnetic data. These limits improve upon previous ground-based constraints in the mass range of $1 \times 10^{-15}$ eV $\lesssim m_{A'} \lesssim 2 \times 10^{-13}$ eV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Detecting Parity-Violating Gravitational Wave Backgrounds with Pulsar Polarization Arrays

Pulsar timing arrays probe isotropic stochastic gravitational wave (GW) backgrounds in the nanohertz band but are insensitive to its parity-violating component. Motivated by recent progress in pulsar polarization arrays, we study the response of pulsar polarimetry to GWs and evaluate its potential to detect circular polarization in isotropic stochastic GW backgrounds, which characterizes parity violation. Based on geometric optics, we derive the rotation of the polarization of electromagnetic waves induced by propagation through a GW background. We show that the cross-correlation between pulsar timing and polarimetry signals isolates the circular polarization component from the GW intensity, sharing the same Hellings-Downs angular pattern. With future facilities such as the SKA, timing-polarimetry correlations could reach sensitivities to the circular polarization of GWs comparable to those of the current astrometric methods.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

Imprints of Dark Photons on Gravitational Wave Polarizations

We study conversion processes between gravitons and dark photons and reveal the effects of dark photons on the polarization of gravitational waves. Considering cosmological dark magnetic fields, we investigate the evolution of the intensity and polarization of gravitational waves through the conversion. Specifically, we demonstrate that for minimal coupling between gravitons and dark photons, the intensity, circular polarization, and linear polarization evolve separately. We derive explicit formulas for the statistical mean and variance of the intensity and polarization when the gravitational waves pass through magnetic fields with random orientation. The formulas capture how the initial polarization of dark photons will be imprinted on the observed gravitational wave background.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Signature of polarized ultralight vector dark matter in pulsar timing arrays

We investigate observational signatures of ultralight vector dark matter with masses $m \sim 10^{-24}$-$10^{-22}$ eV in pulsar timing arrays, taking into account general polarization states of the vector field. We find that vector dark matter induces pulsar timing residuals with nontrivial directional dependence, reflecting the anisotropic property and polarization structure specific to vector dark matter, unlike scalar dark matter. We also derive angular correlation curves of the timing residuals. Intriguingly, circular polarization of the vector dark matter enhances the quadrupole nature of the correlation curve, resulting in a more notable bending of the Hellings-Downs curve. The derived correlation curves offer a useful means to distinguish gravitational wave and dark matter contributions and to probe the nature of dark matter.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2025

Graviton-photon conversion in stochastic magnetic fields

We study graviton-photon conversion in the presence of stochastic magnetic fields. Assuming Gaussian magnetic fields that may possess nontrivial helicity, and unpolarized gravitational waves (GWs) as the initial state, we obtain expressions for the intensity and linear/circular polarizations of GWs after propagation over a finite distance. We calculate both the expectation values and variances of these observables, and find their nontrivial dependence on the typical correlation length of the magnetic field, the propagation distance, and the photon plasma mass. Our analysis reveals that an observationally favorable frequency range with narrower variance can emerge for the intensity, while a peak structure appears in the expectation value of the circular polarization when the magnetic field has nonzero helicity. We also identify a consistency relation between the GW intensity and circular polarization.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Hellings-Downs curve deformed by ultralight vector dark matter

Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) provide a way to detect gravitational waves (GWs) at nanohertz frequencies. To ensure the detection of GWs, observational data must exhibit the Hellings-Downs angular correlation. It is also known that PTAs can probe ultralight dark matter. In this paper, we consider possible contamination of the Hellings-Downs angular correlation by the ultralight dark matter. We find that ultralight vector dark matter can give rise to the deformation of the Hellings-Downs correlation curve. Thus, the Hellings-Downs correlation curve could contain information on ultralight dark matter with a spin.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Observing axions through photon ring dimming of black holes

It is known that magnetic fields exist near black holes and photons can go around black holes due to strong gravity. Utilizing these facts, we can probe hypothetical pseudoscalar particles, so-called axions. In fact, photons can be converted into axions when they propagate in a magnetic field. The conversion of such photons into axions leads to a dimming of the photon ring around the black hole shadow. We show that photon ring dimming can occur efficiently for supermassive black holes. Remarkably, it turns out that the maximal dimming rate of the photon ring is 25%. In the case of M87*, the dimming of 10% will be observed in the X-ray and gamma-ray bands if the angular resolution of $10^{-5}$ arcsec is achieved. The frequency band and the magnitude of the dimming depend on the axion-photon coupling and axion mass. Hence, the distorted spectrum of the photon ring provides a novel tool for detecting axions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Entropy Bound and a Geometrically Nonsingular Universe

Bousso's entropy bound is a conjecture that the entropy through a null hypersurface emanating from a two-dimensional surface with a nonpositive expansion is bounded by the area of that two-dimensional surface. We investigate the validity of Bousso's entropy bound in the spatially flat, homogeneous, and isotropic universe with an adiabatic entropy current. We find that the bound is satisfied in the entire spacetime in which a cutoff time is introduced based on the entropy density and the energy density. Compared to the previously used prescription which puts a cutoff near the curvature singularity, our criterion for introducing the cutoff is applicable even to a nonsingular universe. Our analysis provides an interpretation of the incompleteness implied by the recently proposed singularity theorem based on the entropy bounds.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Implications of the singularity theorem for the size of a nonsingular universe

A general property of universes without initial singularity is investigated based on the singularity theorem, assuming the null convergence condition and the global hyperbolicity. As a direct consequence of the singularity theorem, the universal covering of a Cauchy surface of a nonsingular universe with a past trapped surface must have the topology of $S^3$. In addition, we find that the affine size of a nonsingular universe, defined through the affine length of null geodesics, is bounded above. In the case where a part of the nonsingular spacetime is described by Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker spacetime, we find that this upper bound can be understood as the affine size of the corresponding closed de Sitter universe. We also evaluate the upper bound of the affine size of our Universe based on the trapped surface confirmed by recent observations of baryon acoustic oscillations, assuming that our Universe has no initial singularity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Quasinormal modes of charged black holes with corrections from nonlinear electrodynamics

We study quasinormal modes related to gravitational and electromagnetic perturbations of spherically symmetric charged black holes in nonlinear electrodynamics. Beyond the linear Maxwell electrodynamics, we consider a class of Lagrangian with higher-order corrections written by the electromagnetic field strength and its Hodge dual with arbitrary coefficients, and we parametrize the corrections for quasinormal frequencies in terms of the coefficients. It is confirmed that the isospectrality of quasinormal modes under parity is generally violated due to nonlinear electrodynamics. As applications, the corrections for quasinormal frequencies in Euler-Heisenberg and Born-Infeld electrodynamics are calculated, then it is clarified that the nonlinear effects act to lengthen the oscillation period and enhance the damping rate of the quasinormal modes.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Past extendibility and initial singularity in Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker and Bianchi I spacetimes

We study past-directed extendibility of Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) and Bianchi type I spacetimes with a scale factor vanishing in the past. We give criteria for determining whether a boundary for past-directed incomplete geodesics is a parallelly propagated curvature singularity, which cannot necessarily be read off from scalar curvature invariants. It is clarified that, for incomplete FLRW spacetime to avoid the singularity, the spacetime necessarily reduces to the Milne universe or flat de Sitter universe toward the boundary. For incomplete Bianchi type I spacetime to be free of singularity, it is necessary that the spacetime asymptotically fits into the product of the extendible isotropic geometry (Milne or flat de Sitter) and flat space, or, anisotropic spacetime with specific power law scale factors. Furthermore, we investigate in detail the time-dependence of the scale factor compatible with the extendibility in both spacetimes beyond the leading order.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

Stability of magnetic black holes in general nonlinear electrodynamics

We study the perturbative stability of magnetic black holes in a general class of nonlinear electrodynamics, where the Lagrangian is given by a general function of the field strength of electromagnetic field $F_{μν}$ and its Hodge dual $\widetilde{F}_{μν}$. We derive sufficient conditions for the stability of the black holes. We apply the stability conditions to Bardeen's regular black holes, black holes in Euler-Heisenberg theory, and black holes in Born-Infeld theory. As a result, we obtain a sufficient condition for the stability of Bardeen's black holes, which restricts $F_{μν}\widetilde{F}^{μν}$ dependence of the Lagrangian. We also show that black holes in Euler-Heisenberg theory are stable for a sufficiently small magnetic charge. Moreover, we prove the stability of black holes in the Born-Infeld electrodynamics even when including $F_{μν}\widetilde{F}^{μν}$ dependence.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

Pulsar timing residual induced by ultralight vector dark matter

We study the ultralight vector dark matter with a mass around $10^{-23}\,\mathrm{eV}$. The vector field oscillating coherently on galactic scales induces oscillations of the spacetime metric with a frequency around nHz, which is detectable by pulsar timing arrays. We find that the pulsar timing signal due to the vector dark matter has nontrivial angular dependence unlike the scalar dark matter and the maximal amplitude is three times larger than that of the scalar dark matter.

gr-qc↗