Probing geometric information using the Unruh effect in the vacuum

Aida Ahmadzadegan, Fatemeh Lalegani, Achim Kempf, and Robert B. Mann

Phys. Rev. D 100, 085013 – Published 22 October 2019

Abstract

We present a new method by which, in principle, it is possible to “see in absolute darkness,” i.e., without exchanging any real quanta through quantum fields. This is possible because objects modify the mode structure of the vacuum in their vicinity. The new method probes the mode structure of the vacuum through the Unruh effect, i.e., by recording the excitation rates of quantum systems that are accelerated.

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Received 27 February 2019
Revised 11 July 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.100.085013

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Casimir effect Entanglement in field theory Quantum measurements Quantum metrology Relativistic & quantum electrodynamic effects in atoms, molecules,& ions Unruh effect

Atomic, Molecular & OpticalGeneral PhysicsParticles & Fields

Authors & Affiliations

Aida Ahmadzadegan ^1,2, Fatemeh Lalegani^3,*, Achim Kempf^1,2,4,5, and Robert B. Mann^5,2

¹Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada
²Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada
³Department of Physics, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Iran
⁴Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada
⁵Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada

^*Visitor from the Physics Department, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

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Vol. 100, Iss. 8 — 15 October 2019

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Physical Review D

covering particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology