Related papers: Comment on "Quantum Friction - Fact or Fiction?"
Friction is usually a very complicated process. It appears in its most elementary form when two flat surfaces separated by vacuum gap are sliding relative to each other at zero Kelvin and the friction is generated by the relative movement…
Recently Philbin et al. (New J. Phys. 11 (2009) 033035; arXiv:0904.2148v3) presented a new theory of the van der Waals friction. Contrary to the previous theories they claimed that there is no "quantum friction" at zero temperature. We show…
When two or more objects move relative to one another in vacuum, they experience a drag force which, at zero temperature, usually goes under the name of quantum friction. This contactless non-conservative interaction is mediated by the…
Here, we develop a comprehensive quantum theory for the phenomenon of quantum friction. Based on a theory of macroscopic quantum electrodynamics for unstable systems, we calculate the quantum expectation of the friction force, and link the…
The search for a theory of quantum gravity is the most fundamental problem in all of theoretical physics, but there are as yet no experimental results at all to guide this endeavor. What seems to be needed is a pragmatic way to test if…
Quantum friction, the electromagnetic fluctuation-induced frictional force decelerating an atom which moves past a macroscopic dielectric body, has so far eluded experimental evidence despite more than three decades of theoretical studies.…
Quantum fluctuations can induce a friction on a neutral but polarizable particle and cause it to radiate energy even if the particle is moving in free space filled with blackbody radiation, and is not in contact with or close to any surface…
Astrophysics has given empirical evidence for the cosmological constant that accelerates the expansion of the universe. Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics has proven experimentally that the quantum vacuum exerts forces - the van der…
We discuss the main myths related to the vacuum energy and cosmological constant, such as: ``unbearable lightness of space-time''; the dominating contribution of zero point energy of quantum fields to the vacuum energy; non-zero vacuum…
Short review of riddles that lie at the intersection of quantum theory, particle physics and cosmology; dark energy as false vacuum; discussion of a possible detection experiment.
In this talk I review various developments in the past year concerning quantum vacuum energy, the Casimir effect. In particular, there has been continuing controversy surrounding the temperature correction to the Lifshitz formula for the…
We use general concepts of statistical mechanics to compute the quantum frictional force on an atom moving at constant velocity above a planar surface. We derive the zero-temperature frictional force using a non-equilibrium…
In a recent preprint [1] Jeffrey Bub presents a discussion of neo-Bohrian interpretations of quantum mechanics, and also of von Neumann's work on infinite tensor products [2]. He rightfully writes that this work provides a theoretical…
This article gives an elementary account of the recently proposed theory of spontaneous quantum gravity. It is argued that a viable quantum theory of gravity should be falsifiable, and hence it should dynamically explain the observed…
A common understanding of quantum mechanics (QM) among students and practical users is often plagued by a number of "myths", that is, widely accepted claims on which there is not really a general consensus among experts in foundations of…
The possibility of an extrinsic origin for inertial reaction forces has recently seen increased attention in the physical literature. Among theories of extrinsic inertia, the two considered by the current work are (1) the hypothesis that…
We discuss various examples and ramifications of the conjecture that there exists a maximum force (or tension) in general relativistic systems. We contrast this situation with that in Newtonian gravity, where no maximum force exists, and…
Dark energy is one of the greatest scientific mysteries of today. The idea that dark energy originates from quantum vacuum fluctuations has circulated since the late '60s, but theoretical estimations of vacuum energy have disagreed with the…
The proper resolution of the so-called measurement problem requires a "top-down" conception of the quantum world that is opposed to the usual "bottom-up" conception, which builds on an intrinsically and maximally differentiated manifold.…
The electromagnetic vacuum is known to have energy. It has been recently argued that the quantum vacuum can possess momentum, that adds up to the momentum of matter. This ``Casimir momentum'' is closely related to the Casimir effect, in…