Electrodynamics in curved spacetime: gravitationally-induced constitutive equations and the spacetime index of refraction

Abstract Previous studies on spacetime index of refraction are mostly restricted to the static spacetimes. In this study we fill this gap by introducing the refractive index for stationary spacetimes, employing three different approaches. These include applying Fermat’s principle, employing the classical definition of refractive index, and using gravitationally-induced constitutive equations. These calculations are carried out in both threading and slicing spacetime decomposition formalisms, and their equivalence is established. We discuss possible applications of the spacetime index of refraction, especially in the study of light trajectories and their characteristics in stationary spacetimes. More specifically we show that there is a gravitational analog of a toroidal moment, and discuss a possible gravitational analog of nonreciprocal refraction in materials with a toroidal domain wall.