Quantum anomalies and asymmetric particle creation in analogue systems

Abstract In quantum field theory, photon pairs can be excited out of the vacuum under the influence of dynamical gravitational fields. If the classical electromagnetic duality symmetry held at the quantum level, equal numbers of right- vs left-handed modes would be excited. However, a quantum chiral-like anomaly is known to affect this symmetry. In this work, we explore more experimentally accessible manifestations of this anomaly in analogue-gravity systems. Specifically, we describe the physical mechanism by which rotating, accelerating waveguides can induce an imbalance between right- and left-handed photons excited from the vacuum—effectively signaling the emergence of the electromagnetic duality anomaly in controlled laboratory settings. To build physical intuition, we review first the Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomaly in 1+1 dimensions, which elegantly illustrates the connection between asymmetric particle pair creation and chiral anomalies.