D H Coule 2003 Class. Quantum Grav. 20 3107 doi:10.1088/0264-9381/20/14/313
D H Coule
Show affiliationsThe recent paper of Lieu and Hillman (2003 Astrophys. J. Lett. 585 L77) suggesting that a possible (birefringence-like) phase difference ambiguity coming from Planck effects would alter stellar images of distant sources is questioned. Instead for division of wavefront interference and diffraction phenomena, initial (lateral) coherence is developed simply by propagation of rays (cf the van Cittert–Zernike theorem). This case is strongly immune to quantum gravity influences that could tend to reduce phase coherence. The phase ambiguity, if actually present, could reduce any underlying polarization of the light rays. However, we argue that, as expected since any inherent quantum discreteness of space should become increasingly negligible over larger distances, such a phase ambiguity is rapidly cancelled if a more realistic constantly fluctuating quantum 'buffeting' occurs.
Issue 14 (21 July 2003)
Received 13 March 2003
Published 23 June 2003
D H Coule 2003 Class. Quantum Grav. 20 3107
Francesco Guerra and Fabio Lucio Toninelli 2003 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 36 10987
Reinaldo J Gleiser et al 2003 Class. Quantum Grav. 20 4375
V Velázquez et al 1999 J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phys. 25 787
Xiaohui Fan et al. 2000 The Astronomical Journal 119 1
Jing-ye Zhang et al 1999 J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phys. 25 819
J P Perdew and L A Cole 1982 J. Phys. C: Solid State Phys. 15 L905
J P Perdew and R Monnier 1980 J. Phys. F: Met. Phys. 10 L287
J P Perdew and S H Vosko 1976 J. Phys. F: Met. Phys. 6 1421
J P Perdew and S H Vosko 1974 J. Phys. F: Met. Phys. 4 380