Related papers: Zero-point fluctuations in rotation: Perpetuum mob…
Recently, we have demonstrated that for a certain class of Casimir-type systems ("devices") the energy of zero-point vacuum fluctuations reaches its global minimum when the device rotates about a certain axis rather than remains static.…
We propose a set of devices of simple geometrical design which may exhibit a permanent rotation due to quantum (vacuum) fluctuations. These objects - which have no moving parts - impose certain boundary conditions on quantum fluctuations…
A fundamental prediction of quantum mechanics is that there are random fluctuations everywhere in a vacuum because of the zero-point energy. Remarkably, quantum electromagnetic fluctuations can induce a measurable force between neutral…
Whereas the total energy in zero-point fluctuations of the particle physics vacuum gives rise to the cosmological constant problem, differences in the vacuum give rise to real physical phenomena, such as the Casimir effect. Hence we…
Quantum fluctuations in vacuum can exert a dissipative force on moving objects, which is known as Casimir friction. Especially, a rotating particle in the vacuum will eventually slow down due to the dissipative Casimir friction. Here, we…
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…
The zero-point radiation is an electromagnetic form of energy pervading the universe. Its existence is granted by standard quantum theories. We provide here an explanation based on deterministic classical electrodynamics, by associating to…
One of the most intriguing manifestations of quantum zero-point fluctuations are the van der Waals and Casimir forces, often associated with vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. Here we study generalized fluctuation potentials…
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…
Zero-point energy is generally known to be unphysical. Casimir effect, however, is often presented as a counterexample, giving rise to a conceptual confusion. To resolve the confusion we study foundational aspects of Casimir effect at a…
Effects due to vacuum fluctuations in a semi-classical model of a massless scalar field interacting with a rotating ring are investigated by introducing a collective coordinate for the motion of the background potential. The model is solved…
We discuss the possibility of verifying the equivalence principle for the zero-point energy of quantum electrodynamics, by evaluating the force, produced by vacuum fluctuations, acting on a rigid Casimir cavity in a weak gravitational…
Vacuum fluctuations provide a fundamental source of dissipation for systems coupled to quantum fields by radiation pressure. In the dynamical Casimir effect, accelerating neutral bodies in free space give rise to the emission of real…
We have recently demonstrated that Casimir energy due to parallel plates, including its divergent parts, falls like conventional mass in a weak gravitational field. The divergent parts were suitably interpreted as renormalizing the bare…
Quantum fluctuations are ubiquitous in physics. Ranging from conventional examples like the harmonic oscillator to intricate theories on the origin of the universe, they alter virtually all aspects of matter -- including superconductivity,…
When the vacuum is partitioned by material boundaries with arbitrary shape, one can define the zero-point energy and the free energy of the electromagnetic waves in it: this can be done, independently of the nature of the boundaries, in the…
A rigid body, with an interior cavity entirely filled with a Navier-Stokes liquid, moves in absence of external torques relative to the center of mass of the coupled system body-liquid (inertial motions). The only steady-state motions…
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…
The Casimir effect is a quantum phenomenon rooted in the fact that vacuum fluctuations of quantum fields are affected by the presence of physical objects and boundaries. Since the energy spectrum of the vacuum fluctuations depends on…
We investigate the vacuum and thermal fluctuations of a neutral massless scalar field living in Minkowski spacetime and interacting with a finite number of point-like obstacles, modelled by zero-range potentials. The system is described…