English

Second-quantized Unruh-DeWitt detectors and their quantum reference frame transformations

Quantum Physics 2022-06-09 v3 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Abstract

We generalize the Unruh-DeWitt detector model to second quantization. We illustrate this model by applying it to an excited particle in a superposition of relativistic velocities. We calculate, to first order, how its decay depends on whether its superposition of velocities is coherent or incoherent. Further, we generalize the framework of quantum reference frames to allow transformations to the rest frames of second-quantized Unruh DeWitt detectors. As an application, we show how to transform into the rest frame of a decaying particle that, in the laboratory frame, is in a linear superposition of relativistically differing velocities.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2201.03120,
  title  = {Second-quantized Unruh-DeWitt detectors and their quantum reference frame transformations},
  author = {Flaminia Giacomini and Achim Kempf},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2201.03120},
  year   = {2022}
}

Comments

Close to the published version. 14 pages + 3 pages Appendices

R2 v1 2026-06-24T08:44:22.486Z