PLANE OF POLARIZATION ROTATION INDUCED BY A NON-MINKOWSKIAN SPACETIME

Fermat's principle has been used to derive expressions for the curvature and torsion of the path of the electromagnetic radiation in a medium of refractive index n (= function of space coordinates). Levi-Civita's notion of parallelism further, in conjunction with Brill's results (cf. reference in text) have enabled the derivation (1) of Einstein's formula for the deflection of light, and (2) an expression for the rotation of the plane of polarization, an entirely general relativistic effect, unaccountable in Newtonian physics. Finally, the idea is put forward that the observed rotation of polarization in pulsars might be a purely general relativistic effect due to the non-Minkowskian geometry around them. © 1979 D. Reidel Publishing Co.