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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Electromagnetic couplings of dark domain walls

Nemanja Kaloper*

  • *Contact author: kaloper@physics.ucdavis.edu
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Phys. Rev. D 114, L011904 – Published 8 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/d6vs-4wb6

Abstract

We extend Maxwell electrodynamics with a Chern-Simons coupling to a dark-sector top form sourced by domain walls. Cosmic birefringence can arise from a distinct mechanism in which photon polarization is rotated when crossing vacuum interfaces rather than through adiabatic propagation in a background field. Ultrathin walls induce a finite, frequency-independent polarization rotation generated by an electromagnetic Chern-Simons term localized at the interface. The effect persists even in the absence of ultralight axions or other propagating scalar degrees of freedom. For phenomenologically viable parameters, such walls can generate cosmic microwave background polarization rotation at the level Δϑ∼10−3  rad, providing a signature of the topological structure of the dark-sector vacuum.

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Information

Phys. Rev. D 114, L011904– Published 8 July, 2026
  • Received 3 March 2026
  • Accepted 11 June 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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