Momentum of Electromagnetic Fields, Speed of Light in Moving Media, and the Photon Mass

In both the equations for matter and light wave propagation, the momentum of the electromagnetic fields P-e reflects the relevant electromagnetic interaction. As a review of possible applications of wave propagation properties in the scenarios of standard and stochastic electrodynamics, some relevant experiments are described. Moreover, P-e is also the link to the unitary vision of the quantum effects of the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) type, which provide a useful quantum approach for the limit of the photon mass m(ph). A bench-top experiment based on effects of the AB type that exploit new interferometric techniques, is foreseen to yield the limit m(ph) similar or equal to 10(-54) g, a value that improves upon the results achieved with other approaches.