Evidence for a Non-Zero Mass in the Dispersion Relation of Transverse Photons in the Stellar Core

The electromagnetic two-body interaction energy is modified in the thermal environment of the solar core. The modifications are shown to imply a gross violation of standard solar physics unless the dispersion relation \omega_t(k) for the transverse modes of the photon is altered to include a transverse mass. A non-zero transverse mass $m_t^2\simeq e^2 n_e/m_e$ is, of course, theoretically predicted to exist; the discussion in this paper implies that such a mass is required in order to maintain the success of the standard solar model. In that sense one may claim observational evidence for a non-trivial dispersion relation for transverse photon frequencies in the solar core.