Related papers: Mechanical Effects of Radiation Pressure Quantum F…
Vacuum field fluctuations exert a radiation pressure which induces mechanical effects on scatterers. The question naturally arises whether the energy of vacuum fluctuations gives rise to inertia and gravitation in agreement with the general…
Quantum fields possess zero-point or vacuum fluctuations which induce mechanical effects, namely generalised Casimir forces, on any scatterer. Symmetries of vacuum therefore raise fundamental questions when confronted with the principle of…
This paper is a continuation of a study of the properties and applications of quantum stress tensor fluctuations. Here we treat the vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic energy-momentum flux operator which as been averaged in space and…
Quantum fluctuations of electromagnetic radiation pressure are discussed. We use an approach based on the quantum stress tensor to calculate the fluctuations in velocity and position of a mirror subjected to electromagnetic radiation. Our…
The existence of irreducible field fluctuations in vacuum is an important prediction of quantum theory. These fluctuations have many observable consequences, like the Casimir effect which is now measured with good accuracy and agreement…
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…
A mirror scattering vacuum fields is submitted to a quantum fluctuating radiation pressure. It also experiences a motional force, related to force fluctuations through fluctuation-dissipation relations. The resulting position fluctuations…
Quantum fluctuations impose fundamental limits on measurement and space-time probing. Although using optimised probe fields can allow to push sensitivity in a position measurement beyond the "standard quantum limit", quantum fluctuations of…
Recent work has shown that the stress tensor components, such as energy density or pressure, of a quantum field can be subject to large vacuum fluctuations. The energy density or pressure must be averaged in time before the fluctuations can…
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…
We discuss some effects induced by quantum field fluctuations on mass, inertia and gravitation. Recalling the problem raised by vacuum field fluctuations with respect to inertia and gravitation, we show that vacuum energy differences, such…
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…
Some physical effects of time averaged quantum electric field fluctuations are discussed. The one loop radiative correction to potential scattering are approximately derived from simple arguments which invoke vacuum electric field…
This is a review of recent work on quantum fluctuations of the electric field and of stress tensor operators and their physical effects. The probability distribution for vacuum fluctuations of the electric field is Gaussian, but that for…
A mirror in vacuum is coupled to fluctuating quantum fields. As a result, its energy-momentum and mass fluctuate. We compute the correlation spectra of force and mass fluctuations for a mirror at rest in vacuum (of a scalar field in a…
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…
Vacuum fluctuations of quantum fields are altered in presence of a strong gravitational background, with important physical consequences. We argue that a non-trivial spacetime geometry can act as an optically active medium for quantum…
The Casimir force provides a striking example of the effects of quantum fluctuations in a mesoscopic system. Because it arises from the objects' electromagnetic response, the necessary calculations in quantum field theory are most naturally…
We study the effects of the electromagnetic subvacuum fluctuations on the dynamics of a nonrelativistic charged particle in a wavepacket. The influence from the quantum field is expected to give an additional effect to the velocity…
A mirror in the vacuum is submitted to a radiation pressure exerted by scattered fields. It is known that the resulting mean force is zero for a motionless mirror, but not for a mirror moving with a non-uniform acceleration. We show here…