2016/12/01 by De-Chang Dai
Physics and Astronomy · #Detector #Experimental and Theoretical Physics Studies #Inertial frame of reference #Optics #Particle detector #Physics #Quantum #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect #Quantum electrodynamics #Quantum mechanics #Relativity and Gravitational Theory #Scalar (mathematics) #Scalar field #Unruh effect #hep-th #physics.gen-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1209/0295-5075/116/50006
published as EPL, 116 (2016) 50006 · 3 pages, 1 figure
openalex publication_date 2016/12/01 · arxiv created 2017/01/20 · arxiv updated 2017/01/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We study a type of an Unruh-DeWitt–like detector based on a vector rather than a scalar field. This detector has two energy states and produces Larmor radiation when there is no energy gap between them. This setup indicates that Larmor radiation and Unruh radiation are two counterparts of the same phenomenon. Larmor radiation is observed in the inertial frame, while Unruh radiation is observed in an accelerated frame. The accelerated observer sees that his detector absorbed a particle inside its own accelerated horizon, while the Larmor radiation is the companion particle which leaves the accelerated observer's horizon. Since the detection is based on the electromagnetic field, this type of detector is much closer to the real world than a standard Unruh-DeWitt detector which is coupled to a scalar field.