Complex Photon Mass in Spherically Curved Space-Time: Consistency with Experimental Bounds and Dispersion Phenomena

Complex Photon Mass in Spherically Curved Space-Time: Consistency with Experimental Bounds and Dispersion Phenomena | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Complex Photon Mass in Spherically Curved Space-Time: Consistency with Experimental Bounds and Dispersion Phenomena Mahendra Goray This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7584285/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The photon is conventionally treated as a massless particle within Maxwell’s electromagnetism, special relativity, and quantum electrodynamics (QED). However, numerous theoretical proposals and experimental efforts have suggested the possibility of a non-zero photon mass. Observational limits from astrophysical phenomena such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and fast radio bursts (FRBs), as well as laboratory measurements, constrain the photon mass to extremely small upper bounds. In addition, anomalous dispersion experiments in optical media have reported superluminal group velocities, which may be interpreted in terms of an effective imaginary photon mass. Motivated by these findings, we propose a framework in which the photon rest mass is expressed in a complex form, consisting of a real component (consistent with existing photon-mass limits) and an imaginary component (associated with dispersion and curvature effects). In this work, we study the emergence of complex photon mass in a spherically curved space-time background and discuss its implications for light propagation and the possible connection to dark sector physics. Our formulation provides a unifying perspective on photon mass, compatible with both astrophysical observations and laboratory experiments, while suggesting new directions for testing physics beyond the standard light-speed paradigm. Physical sciences/Physics/Astronomy and astrophysics/Transient astrophysical phenomena Physical sciences/Astronomy and planetary science/Astronomy and astrophysics/Computational astrophysics Complex mass Faster than light velocity Imaginary mass Ricci scalar Wave-particle duality Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7584285","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":514312355,"identity":"e8962543-1638-46b8-875f-c78194318e3a","order_by":0,"name":"Mahendra Goray","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABDUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBCDBCA2YGCosJED8Q48IF7LmTRjsJYEorUwth1ObIBxcQF5996Hn3lz7PL4pZu3ffjZxpw+P+zwQ6AtdnK6Ddi1GJ45bizNuy25WHLOseKZPefYcjfeTjMAakk2NjuAQ8uMNAagFubEDTdyjBl4ynhyN85OAGk5kLgNtxbm37zb6hP3A7Uw/mGTSDecnf4BrxZ5iTQ2oC2HEzdI5Bgz87QZJMhL5+C3xYDnGJvl3G3HE2fcSCtmljmTYLhBOqfgQIIBbr/It7cx33i7rTqxf0byZsY3Ff/l5Wenb/7wocJODpcWA6A4Ew+6CDhacQH5BgYGxh/oIqNgFIyCUTAKkAEA2kpkTWSvr5sAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6613-3840","institution":"S.P. 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