English

Can quantum vacuum fluctuations be considered real?

Quantum Physics 2007-05-23 v1

Abstract

The main argument against the assumption that quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field are real is that they do not activate photon detectors. In order to met this objection I study several models of photon counter compatible with the reality of the fluctuations. The models predict a nonlinear dependence of the counting rate with the light intensity and the existence of a nonthermal dark rate, results which might explain the difficulty for performing loophole-free optical tests of Bell's inequality.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.quant-ph/0206161,
  title  = {Can quantum vacuum fluctuations be considered real?},
  author = {Emilio Santos},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:quant-ph/0206161},
  year   = {2007}
}

Comments

10 pages, no figures