Electric Redshift and Quasars

Recently, a new redshift mechanism called electric redshift is developed by Zhang (ApJL 636, 61, 2006), in accord with the five-dimensional fully covariant Kaluza-Klein (K-K) theory with a scalar field, which unifies the
four-dimensional Einsteinian general theory of relativity and the Maxwellian electromagnetic theory. The result indicated that a dense, massive, and charged object can significantly shift the light that is emitted from the object toward the red as compared with the Einsteinian gravitational redshift. A compact, electrically charged object with density and mass comparable to those of a neutron star can impart a redshift as great as quasars have. This seminar introduces this new redshift mechanism and discusses the detectability of the electric redshift and the scalar field interaction with possible experiments.

Dr. T. X. Zhang

Alabama A&M University