Non-Inertial Dissipation and Photon Redshift

Abstract

We investigate whether higher time derivatives arising in effective non-inertial dynamics can provide a microscopic mechanism for an extremely slow dissipation of photon energy over large propagation distances. A photon is modeled as a finite electromagnetic wave packet with a central frequency, without assuming a soliton structure. The influence of a weak non-inertial background is represented by a higher-derivative response. We show that the leading odd higher-derivative contribution can generate a negative-definite term in the effective energy balance, so that dissipation may arise from the non-inertial dynamics itself rather than from an independently introduced friction force. For a nearly monochromatic mode, the leading third-order contribution produces a systematic decrease of the photon energy and central frequency, although its fractional loss rate remains frequency dependent. This demonstrates that the third-order term alone is insufficient for an approximately universal propagation redshift and motivates consideration of the complete higher-derivative series, or equivalently a nonlocal memory response. The proposed framework requires neither a preferred spatial direction nor a distance-dependent non-inertial background and provides a basis for studying propagation-induced photon aging and its possible relation to cosmological redshift.