English

Hawking radiation, Unruh radiation and the equivalence principle

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2011-08-31 v2 High Energy Physics - Theory

Abstract

We compare the response function of an Unruh-DeWitt detector for different space-times and different vacua and show that there is a {\it detailed} violation of the equivalence principle. In particular comparing the response of an accelerating detector to a detector at rest in a Schwarzschild space-time we find that both detectors register thermal radiation, but for a given, equivalent acceleration the fixed detector in the Schwarzschild space-time measures a higher temperature. This allows one to locally distinguish the two cases. As one approaches the horizon the two temperatures have the same limit so that the equivalence principle is restored at the horizon.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1102.5564,
  title  = {Hawking radiation, Unruh radiation and the equivalence principle},
  author = {Douglas Singleton and Steve Wilburn},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1102.5564},
  year   = {2011}
}

Comments

9 pages. Added references and added discussion. To be published in PRL