2001/07/31 by Daniel Rohrlich, Yakir Aharonov · 54 citations
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic physics #Charged particle #Cherenkov radiation #Ion #Optics #Particle (ecology) #Physics #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum mechanics #Radiation #Speed of light (cellular automaton) #Superluminal motion #Transition radiation #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.66.042102
published in Physical Review A 66(4) (American Physical Society) · RevTeX, 18 pages, no figures. Revised and expanded for clarity; to appear in Physical Review A
arxiv created 2002/08/05 · openalex publication_date 2002/10/03 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Any charged particle moving faster than light through a medium emits Cherenkov radiation. We show that charged particles moving faster than light through the vacuum emit Cherenkov radiation. How can a particle move faster than light? The weak speed of a charged particle can exceed the speed of light. By definition, the weak velocity 〈v〉w is 〈\ensuremathΨfin|v|\ensuremathΨin〉/〈\ensuremathΨfin|\ensuremathΨin〉, where v is the velocity operator and |\ensuremathΨin〉 and |\ensuremathΨfin〉 are, respectively, the states of a particle before and after a velocity measurement. We discuss the consistency of weak values and show that superluminal weak speed is consistent with relativistic causality.