A Comment on "A note on polarized light from Magnetars: QED effects and axion-like particles" by L.M. Capparelli, L. Maiani and A.D. Polosa

Abstract

The recent detection of a large polarization degree in the optical emission of an isolated neutron star led to the suggestion that this has been the first evidence of vacuum polarization in a strong magnetic field, an effect predicted by quantum electrodynamics but never observed before. This claim was challanged in a paper by Capparelli, Maiani & Polosa (2017), according to whom a much higher polarization degree would be necessary to positively identify vacuum polarization. Here we show that their conclusions are biased by several inadequate assumptions and have no impact on the original claim.

arXiv comment10 pages, 2 figures

References in corpus (1)

• A note on polarized light from Magnetars

Cited by in corpus (7)

• High-Energy Vacuum Birefringence and Dichroism in an Ultrastrong Laser Field
• All-optical signatures of Strong-Field QED in the vacuum emission picture
• All-optical signatures of quantum vacuum nonlinearities in generic laser fields
• Vacuum birefringence in the head-on collision of XFEL and optical high-intensity laser pulses
• Probing Physics in Vacuum Using an X-ray Free-Electron Laser, a High-Power Laser, and a High-Field Magnet
• A note on polarized light from Magnetars
• Evidence of vacuum birefringence from the polarisation of the optical emission from an Isolated Neutron Star