Related papers: Quantum vacuum fluctuations
Quantum liquids, in which an effective Lorentzian metric and thus some kind of gravity gradually arise in the low-energy corner, are the objects where the problems related to the quantum vacuum can be investigated in detail. In particular,…
The cosmological constant problem arises because the magnitude of vacuum energy density predicted by quantum mechanics is about 120 orders of magnitude larger than the value implied by cosmological observations of accelerating cosmic…
We present a study of the static and dynamical Casimir effects for a quantum field theory satisfying generalized Robin boundary condition, of a kind that arises naturally within the context of quantum circuits. Since those conditions may…
Vacuum fluctuations produce a force acting on a rigid Casimir cavity in a weak gravitational field. Such a force is here evaluated and is found to have opposite direction with respect to the gravitational acceleration; the order of…
Vacuum fluctuations and the Casimir effect are considered in a cosmological setting. It is suggested that the dark energy, which recent observations suggest make up 73% of our universe, is vacuum energy due to a causal boundary effect at…
The effects of reflecting boundaries on vacuum electric field fluctuations are treated. The presence of the boundaries can enhance these fluctuations and possibly lead to observable effects. The electric field fluctuations lead to voltage…
Two different quantum processes are considered in a perturbed vacuum cavity: time refraction and dynamical Casimir effect. They are shown to be physically equivalent, and are predicted to be unstable, leading to an exponential growth in the…
We consider and review the emergence of singular energy densities and field fluctuations at sharp boundaries or point-like field sources in the vacuum. The presence of singular energy densities of a field may be relevant from a conceptual…
In this paper, we study the Casimir effect in a curved spacetime described by gravitational actions quadratic in the curvature. In particular, we consider the dynamics of a massless scalar field confined between two nearby plates and…
We argue that the instability of Euclidean Einstein gravity is an indication that the vacuum is non perturbative and contains a condensate of the metric tensor in a manner reminiscent of Yang-Mills theories. As a simple step toward the…
The hypothesis is proposed that under the approximation that the quantum equations of motion reduce to the classical ones, the quantum vacuum also reduces to the classical vacuum--the empty space. The vacuum energy of QED is studied under…
The primary ingredients of reality are the universal quantum fields, which fluctuate persistently, spontaneously, and randomly. The general perception of the scientific community is that these quantum fluctuations are due to the uncertainty…
Quantum vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field in empty space seem not to produce observable effects over the motion of a charged test particle. However, when a change in the background vacuum state is implemented, as for instance…
Quantum fluctuations or other moments of a state contribute to energy expectation values and can imply interesting physical effects. In quantum cosmology, they turn out to be important for a discussion of density bounds and instabilities of…
In this thesis, we investigate quantum vacuum effects in the presence of gravitational fields. After discussing the general theory of vacuum effects in strong fields we apply it to the relevant issue of the interaction of the quantum vacuum…
The Casimir effect results from the optomechanical coupling between field fluctuations and mirrors in quantum vacuum. This contribution to the 20th International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy (ICOLS 2011) discusses the current status in…
Casimir physics covers a wealth of phenomena where forces between macroscopic objects are induced by long range fluctuations of either classical or quantum origin. Fluctuations of the quantum electrodynamic vacuum epitomize this type of…
Macroscopic quantum vacuum and modern theories of gravitation share the strong interplay between geometry and physical phenomena. We review selected issues related to the accuracy of the measurement of Casimir forces with particular…
It is a maxim often stated, yet rarely illustrated, that the combination of special relativity and quantum mechanics necessarily leads to quantum field theory. An elementary illustration is provided, using the familiar particle in a box,…
In this paper the quantum vacuum energies induced by massive fluctuations of one real scalar field on a configuration of two partially transparent plates are analysed. The physical properties of the infinitely thin plates are characterized…