Related papers: The Weight of Vacuum Fluctuations
We discuss tests of the Einstein Equivalence Principle due to energies which are purely quantum mechanical in origin. In particular, we consider using Lamb Shift energies to test for possible quantum violations of Local Position Invariance.…
In order to clarify why the zero-point energy associated with the vacuum fluctuations cannot be a candidate for the dark energy in the universe, a comparison with the Casimir effect is analyzed in some detail. A principle of epistemology is…
The cosmological constant is not an absolute constant. The gravitating part of the vacuum energy is adjusted to the energy density of matter and to other types of the perturbations of the vacuum. We discuss how the vacuum energy responds…
We derive the commutation relations for field strengthes of the non-Abelian gauge fields by requiring that the quantum mechanical equations of motion coincide with the classical field equations. The equations of motion with respect to time…
It has been argued since 1948, when it was experimentally demonstrated, that the Casimir effect-where two non-charged conducting plates have a weak but measurable force on each other dependent on the inverse fourth power of the distance…
We discuss the limits of validity of the semiclassical theory of gravity in which a classical metric is coupled to the expectation value of the stress tensor. It is argued that this theory is a good approximation only when the fluctuations…
We study gravitational properties of vacuum energy by erecting a geometry on the stress-energy tensor of vacuum, matter and radiation. Postulating that the gravitational effects of matter and radiation can be formulated by an appropriate…
We give a vacuum description with zero-point density for virtual fluctuations. One of the goals is to explain the origin of the vacuum permittivity and permeability and to calculate their values. In particular, we improve on existing…
We consider the consequences of the presence of metric fluctuations upon the properties of a hydrogen atom. Particularly, we introduce these metric fluctuations in the corresponding effective Schroedinger equation and deduce the…
The Einstein Equivalence Principle has as one of its implications that the non-gravitational laws of physics are those of special relativity in any local freely-falling frame. We consider possible tests of this hypothesis for systems whose…
For more seventy years physicists have appreciated that Nature's vacuum is far from empty. The discovery of the Lamb shift in Hydrogen provided dramatic verification of the reality of the quantum vacuum. The advent of gauge theories has led…
We discuss some effects induced by quantum field fluctuations on mass, inertia and gravitation. Recalling the problem raised by vacuum field fluctuations with respect to inertia and gravitation, we show that vacuum energy differences, such…
It is shown that the total energy of the vacuum fluctuations of the electron-positron and electromagnetic fields in the quantum electrodynamics can be equal to zero if the "bare" electron charge is chosen by adequate way. The value of…
The aim of this paper is to reveal the deep relationship between matter and vacuum, and to seek for the same physical basis of the relativity and the quantum mechanics. In doing this, three postulates of vacuum fluctuation are proposed…
Quantum vacuum and matter immersed in it interact through electromagnetic, strong and weak interactions. However, we have zero knowledge of the gravitational properties of the quantum vacuum. As an illustration of possible fundamental…
We investigate the gravitational property of the quantum vacuum by treating its large energy density predicted by quantum field theory seriously and assuming that it does gravitate to obey the equivalence principle of general relativity. We…
The notion of vacuum fluctuations of the gravitational field plays important role in cosmology. The strong variable gravitational field of the very early Universe amplifies these fluctuations and transforms them into macroscopical…
In linearized quantum gravity, a shift of the average energy-momentum can be compensated by a shift of the average gravitational field. This allows a renormalization scheme that naturally removes the contribution of quantum vacuum…
An intriguing consequence of quantum field theory is that vacuum is not empty space; it is full of quantum fluctuating electromagnetic fields, or virtual photons, corresponding to their zero-point energy, even though the average number of…
We argue that quantum-gravitational fluctuations in the space-time background give the vacuum non-trivial optical properties that include diffusion and consequent uncertainties in the arrival times of photons, causing stochastic…