Related papers: Quantum vacuum fluctuations
In this letter we propose a new interpretation of the Casimir effect. Concretely, we show that the Casimir energy can be written as the quantum ``Von Neumann'' entropy associated to a 2-qubit, mixed pseudo-density matrix of the relevant…
Real world quantum systems are open to perpetual influence from the wider environment. Quantum gravitational fluctuations provide a most fundamental source of the environmental influence through their universal interactions with all forms…
A localized charged particle oscillating near a reflecting boundary is considered as a model for non-cancellation of vacuum fluctuations. Although the mean velocity of the particle is sinusoidal, the velocity variance produced by vacuum…
Zero-point fluctuations in quantum fields give rise to observable forces between material bodies, the so-called Casimir forces. In this lecture I present some results of the theory of the Casimir effect, primarily formulated in terms of…
The origin of the observed acceleration of the expansion of the universe is a major problem of modern cosmology and theoretical physics. Simple estimations of the contribution of vacuum to the density energy of the universe in quantum field…
The Casimir effect, which predicts the emergence of an attractive force between two parallel, highly reflecting plates in vacuum, plays a vital role in various fields of physics, from quantum field theory and cosmology to nanophotonics and…
The interaction of a particle with vacuum fluctuations--which theoretically exist even in the complete absence of matter--can lead to observable irreversible decoherence if it were possible to switch on and off the particle charge suddenly.…
It is found that the existence of spacetime foam leads to a situation in which the number of fundamental quantum bosonic fields is a variable quantity. The general aspects of an exact theory that allows for a variable number of fields are…
Some of the most prominent theoretical predictions of modern times, e.g., the Unruh effect, Hawking radiation, and gravity-assisted particle creation, are supported by the fact that various quantum constructs like particle content and…
One of the most surprising predictions of modern quantum theory is that the vacuum of space is not empty. In fact, quantum theory predicts that it teems with virtual particles flitting in and out of existence. While initially a curiosity,…
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…
We present a detailed description of a quantum scalar field theory within a flat spacetime confined to a cavity with perfectly reflecting moving boundaries. Moreover, we establish an equivalence between this time-dependent setting and a…
The cosmological constant, also known as dark energy, was believed to be caused by vacuum fluctuations, but naive calculations give results in stark disagreement with fact. In the Casimir effect, vacuum fluctuations cause forces in…
In order to clarify why the zero-point energy associated with the vacuum fluctuations cannot be a candidate for the dark energy in the universe, a comparison with the Casimir effect is analyzed in some detail. A principle of epistemology is…
Source radiation (radiation reaction) and vacuum-field fluctuations can be seen as two inseparable contributions to processes such as spontaneous emission, the Lamb shift, or the Casimir force. Here, we propose how they can be individually…
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…
In this essay we offer a comprehensible overview of the gravitational aether scenario. This is a possible extension of Einstein's theory of relativity to the quantum regime via an effective approach. Quantization of gravity usually faces…
We assume that particles are point-like objects even when not observed. We report on the consequences of our assumption within the realm of quantum theory. An important consequence is the necessity of vacuum fields to account for particle…
We show that, due to the nonlinear nature of gravity, fluctuations in spacetime curvature generate additional gravitational attraction. This fluctuation-induced extra attraction was overlooked in the conventional understanding of the…
The phenomena implied by the existence of quantum vacuum fluctuations, grouped under the title of the Casimir effect, are reviewed, with emphasis on new results discovered in the past four years. The Casimir force between parallel plates is…