2018/11/30 by Ben Maybee, Daniel Hodgson, Almut Beige +2
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Classical mechanics #Electromagnetic field #Gauge theory #Hamiltonian (control theory) #Mathematical physics #Mathematics #Minkowski space #Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories #Observable #Observer (physics) #Photon #Physics #Quantization (signal processing) #Quantum #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum field theory #Quantum field theory in curved spacetime #Quantum gravity #Quantum mechanics #Spacetime #Theoretical physics #Unruh effect #gr-qc #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.3390/e21090844
published as Entropy 21 (2019) 844 · 16 pages, 1 figure, improved discussion
arxiv created 2019/07/05 · openalex publication_date 2019/08/30 · arxiv updated 2019/10/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Recently, Bennett et al. (Eur. J. Phys. 37:014001, 2016) presented a physically-motivated and explicitly gauge-independent scheme for the quantisation of the electromagnetic field in flat Minkowski space. In this paper we generalise this field quantisation scheme to curved spacetimes. Working within the standard assumptions of quantum field theory and only postulating the physicality of the photon, we derive the Hamiltonian, H ^ , and the electric and magnetic field observables, E ^ and B ^ , respectively, without having to invoke a specific gauge. As an example, we quantise the electromagnetic field in the spacetime of an accelerated Minkowski observer, Rindler space, and demonstrate consistency with other field quantisation schemes by reproducing the Unruh effect.