Related papers: Particle Detectors, Cavities, and the Weak Equival…
It is shown that quantum particle detectors are not reliable probes of spacetime structure. In particular, they fail to distinguish between inertial and non-inertial motion in a general spacetime. To prove this, we consider detectors…
We study the effect of large acceleration of an uniformly accelerated frame on the validity of weak equivalence principle. Specifically we demonstrate how the behaviour of free quantum particle, as observed by an observer with large uniform…
We address the old question of whether or not a uniformly accelerated charged particle radiates, and consequently, if weak equivalence principle is violated by electrodynamics. We show that radiation has different meanings; some absolute,…
We study the response of switched particle detectors to static negative energy densities and negative energy fluxes. It is demonstrated how the switching leads to excitation even in the vacuum and how negative energy can lead to a…
The Einstein equivalence principle is based on the equality of gravitational mass and inertial mass, which has led to the universality of a free-fall concept. The principle has been extremely well tested so far and has been tested with a…
We analyze the physics of accelerated particle detectors (such as atoms) crossing optical cavities. In particular we focus on the detector response as well as on the energy signature that the detectors imprint in the cavities. In doing so,…
Electron accelerations of the order of $10^{21} g$ obtained by laser fields open up the possibility of experimentally testing one of the cornerstones of general relativity, the weak equivalence principle, which states that the local effects…
We address the question whether quantum probes in a gravitational field can be considered as test particles obeying the weak equivalence principle (WEP). A formulation of the WEP is proposed which applies also in the quantum regime, while…
We argue that purely local experiments can distinguish a stationary charged particle in a static gravitational field from an accelerated particle in (gravity-free) Minkowski space. Some common arguments to the contrary are analyzed and…
In previous work it has been shown that the electromagnetic quantum vacuum, or electromagnetic zero-point field, makes a contribution to the inertial reaction force on an accelerated object. We show that the result for inertial mass can be…
We investigate the trade-off between vacuum insensitivity and sensitivity to excitations in finite-size detectors, taking measurement locality as a fundamental constraint. We derive an upper bound on the detectability of vacuum excitation,…
We show that a particle detector can distinguish the interior of a hollow shell from flat space for switching times much shorter than the light-crossing time of the shell, even though the local metrics are indistinguishable. This shows that…
The equivalence principle is a perennial subject of controversy, especially in connection with radiation by a uniformly accelerated classical charge, or a freely falling charge observed by a supported detector. Recently, related issues have…
We introduce a method to compute particle detector transition probability in spacetime regions of general curved spacetimes provided that the curvature is not above a maximum threshold. In particular we use this method to compare the…
We study the impact of the zero-mode of a quantum field on the evolution of a particle detector. For a massless scalar field in a periodic cavity, we show that the impact of the zero mode on the Unruh-DeWitt detector and its…
The present work analyzes the meaning of the Weak Equivalence Principle in the context of quantum mechanics. A quantal definition for this principle is introduced. This definition does not require the concept of trajectory and relies upon…
We discuss quantum inequalities for minimally coupled scalar fields in static spacetimes. These are inequalities which place limits on the magnitude and duration of negative energy densities. We derive a general expression for the quantum…
The weak equivalence principle of gravity is examined at the quantum level in two ways. First, the position detection probabilities of particles described by a non-Gaussian wave-packet projected upwards against gravity around the classical…
A simple, general discussion of the problem of inertia is provided both in classical physics and in the quantum world. After briefly reviewing the classical principles of equivalence (weak (WEP), Einstein (EEP), strong (SEP)), I pass to a…
We study the prospect of the equivalence principle at the quantum regime by investigating the transition probabilities of a two-level atomic detector in different scenarios. In particular, two specific set-ups are considered. ($i$)…