Finite Rest Masses of Wave Quanta in Material Media

Abstract

The equivalence of a dispersion relationship and Einstein's mass--energy relationship leads to the specification of a particle in a vacuurrt which is equivalent to a "photon" in a medium. The invariance of the rest mass of this particle leads to a formula for the Doppler effect which is good for all forms of waves whose quanta can be described by E = nw and p = nk. Applying dynamical equations to the equivalent particle in the case of a radiofrequency photon in a plasma around a star, a new gravitational redshift formula is deduced which reduces to the well-known expression in the appropriate limit. A new form of bending of photon trajectories in a gravitational field is also described. At frequencies near the plasma frequency Vp the bending is vp/4(v-vp} times that for light in a vacuum.