Related papers: Squeezing of the quantum electromagnetic 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…
The quantum vacuum fundamentally alters the properties of embedded particles. In contrast to classical empty space, it allows for creation and annihilation of excitations. For trapped particles this leads to a change in the energy spectrum,…
Due to the nonvanishing average photon population of the squeezed vacuum state, finite corrections to the scattering matrix are obtained. The lowest order contribution to the electron mass shift for a one mode squeezed vacuum state is given…
Squeezed states of light constitute an important nonclassical resource in the field of high-precision measurements, e.g. gravitational wave detection, as well as in the field of quantum information, e.g. for teleportation, quantum…
A new process associated with the nonlinear optical properties of the electromagnetic vacuum, as predicted by quantum electrodynamics, is described. This can be called photon acceleration in vacuum, and corresponds to the frequency shift…
Besides their stunning physical properties which are unmatched in a classical world, squeezed states of electromagnetic radiation bear advanced application potentials in quantum information systems and precision metrology, including…
Quantum vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field result in two signatures on a harmonically trapped charged particle: a shift from the natural trap frequency and generation of quantum coherences. We assess the role of the…
A model for the localized quantum vacuum is proposed in which the zero-point energy of the quantum electromagnetic field originates in energy- and momentum-conserving transitions of material systems from their ground state to an unstable…
It is not possible to detect a vacuum fluctuation without a test particle interacting with the vacuum fluctuation in a measurable manner. In the quantum electrodynamics calculation presented here, a photon traveling through the vacuum is…
Quantum mechanics ascribes to the ground state of the electromagnetic radiation zero-point electric field fluctuations that permeate empty space at all frequencies. No energy can be extracted from the ground state of a system and,…
A broadband squeezed vacuum photon field is characterized by a complex squeezing function. We show that by controlling the wavelength dependence of its phase it is possible to change the dynamics of the atomic polarization interacting with…
Quantum electronic noise, the random current fluctuations generated by electrons crossing a quantum conductor, has been thoroughly studied from the electron point of view. Recent experiments have shown that such noise may have striking…
In quantum theory the vacuum is defined as a state of minimum energy that is devoid of particles but still not completely empty. It is perhaps more surprising that its definition depends on the geometry of the system and on the trajectory…
We show that photons subject to a spatially inhomogeneous electromagnetic field can experience quantum reflection. Based on this observation, we propose quantum reflection as a novel means to probe the nonlinearity of the quantum vacuum in…
Coherent electrons coupled to the quantized electromagnetic field undergo decoherence which can be viewed as due either to fluctuations of the Aharonov-Bohm phase or to photon emission. When the electromagnetic field is in a squeezed vacuum…
Recent progress in electro-optic sampling has allowed direct access to the fluctuations of the electromagnetic ground state. Here, we present a theoretical formalism that allows for an in-depth characterisation and interpretation of such…
The squeezed state of the electromagnetic field can be generated in many nonlinear optical processes and finds a wide range of applications in quantum information processing and quantum metrology. This article reviews the basic properties…
The response of the QED vacuum in an asymptotically large electromagnetic field is studied. In this regime the vacuum energy is strongly influenced by the vacuum polarization effect. The possible interaction between the virtual…
We introduce a new model for dark energy in the universe in which a small cosmological constant is generated by ordinary electromagnetic vacuum energy. The corresponding virtual photons exist at all frequencies but switch from a…
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…