In this article it states that, observations of the dense remnant of an exploded star have provided the first sign of a quantum effect on light passing through empty space. Light from the stellar remnant is polarized, meaning that its electromagnetic waves are oriented preferentially in a particular direction like light that reflects off the surface of water. That polarization is evidence of "Vacuum birefringence," a quantum effect first predicted 80 years ago caused by light interacting with the vacuum of space in a strong magnetic field. According to quantum electrodynamics, empty space isn't really empty. Under strong magnetic fields, light waves that wiggle along the direction of the magnetic field will travel slightly slower than light oscillating perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field, which rotates the overall polarization of light coming from the star. Horizontally polarized light, for example, is sent to each pixel, but a filter lets only vertically polarized light escape. Using the Very Large Telescope in Chile, the scientists found that visible light from the neutron star was about 16 percent polarized, a result consistent with scientists' theories of vacuum birefringence.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/vacuum-quantum-effect-light-detected
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