Related papers: Comment on "Quantum Friction - Fact or Fiction?"
Facts happen at every interaction, but they are not absolute: they are relative to the systems involved in the interaction. Stable facts are those whose relativity can effectively be ignored. In this work, we describe how stable facts…
Gravity is specifically the attractive force between two masses separated at a distance. Is this force a derived or a fundamental interaction? We believe that all fundamental interactions are quantum in nature but a derived interaction may…
This paper lends perspective to the media catchphrase that <time does not exist>. To show how phrases such as this should be interpreted, we formulate some of the most important questions that arise in discussions about time in physics. We…
There appears to be three, perhaps related, ways of approaching the nature of vacuum energy . The first is to say that it is just the lowest energy state of a given, usually quantum, system. The second is to equate vacuum energy with the…
High energy physics features many ingenious tools for extracting finite results from formally divergent expressions. This brief note argues from a new perspective that all such formal infinities are meaningful markers of new physics. As…
The zero-temperature Casimir-Lifshitz force between two plates moving parallel to each other at arbitrary constant speed was found in [New J. Phys. 11, 033035 (2009)]. The solution is here generalized to the case where the plates are at…
To date, there has been no experimental evidence that invalidates quantum theory. Yet it may only be an effective description of the world, in the same way that classical physics is an effective description of the quantum world. We ask…
Contemporary research programs in fundamental physics appear to suggest that there could be two (physical) times---or none at all. This essay articulates these possibilities in the context of quantum gravity, and in particular of…
Quantum mechanics is now 100 years old and still going strong. Combining general relativity with quantum mechanics is the last hurdle to be overcome in the "quantum revolution".
We review work in areas ranging from condensed matter physics to quantum gravity, with the following interconnected questions in mind: (i) what is the nature of the vacuum in condensed matter systems, in quantum field theory, and in…
We consider two perfectly smooth featureless surfaces at T=0, defined only by their respective dielectric functions, separated by a finite distance, and ask the question whether they can experience any friction when sheared parallel to…
The Casimir-Polder interaction of an atom with a metallic wall is investigated in the framework of the Lifshitz theory. It is demonstrated that in some temperature (separation) region the Casimir-Polder entropy takes negative values and…
The quantum gravity vacuum must contain virtual fluctuations of black hole microstates. These extended-size fluctuations get `crushed' when a closed trapped surface forms, and turn into on-shell `fuzzball' states that resolve the…
The state-of-the-art physics consists of two irreconcilable branches, i.e., the quantum theory and the general relativity, which work well in their own territories, independently. However, what are quantum and spacetime after all? The key…
The traditional interpretation of radiative emission and absorption asserts that photons are created and annihilated in such processes. A Gedanken experiment is considered in which kinetic energy from observed photons is systematically…
It is argued that the traditional "realist" methodology of physics, according to which human concepts, laws and theories can grasp the essence of reality, is incompatible with the most fruitful interpretation of quantum formalism. The proof…
A review of the term "counterfactuals" in various contexts of quantum mechanics.
We study the phenomenon of quantum friction in a system consisting of a polarizable atom moving at a constant speed parallel to a metallic plate. The metal is described using a charged hydrodynamic model for the electrons. This model…
This is a comment on a collection of statements gathered on the occasion of the Quantum Physics of Nature meeting in Vienna.
The nonperturbative expressions for the free energy and force of interaction between a ground-state atom and a real-material surface at any temperature are presented. The transition to the Matsubara representation is performed, whereupon…