Issue |
EPL
Volume 89, Number 1, January 2010
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | 11002 | |
Number of page(s) | 5 | |
Section | The Physics of Elementary Particles and Fields | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/89/11002 | |
Published online | 14 January 2010 |
Quantum electrodynamics of Casimir momentum: Momentum of the quantum vacuum?
Laboratoire de Physique et Modélisation des Milieux Condensés, Université Joseph Fourier and CNRS, Maison des Magistères - BP 166, 38042 Grenoble, France, EU
Corresponding author: sebastien.kawka@grenoble.cnrs.fr
Received:
28
August
2009
Accepted:
7
December
2009
The electromagnetic vacuum is known to have energy. It has been recently argued that the quantum vacuum can possess momentum, that adds up to the momentum of matter. This “Casimir momentum” is closely related to the Casimir effect, in which case energy is exchanged. In previous theory it was treated semi-classically. We present a non-relativistic quantum theory for the linear momentum of electromagnetic zero-point fluctuations, considering a harmonic oscillator subject to crossed, quasi-static magnetic and electric and coupled to the quantum vacuum. We derive a contribution of the quantum vacuum to the linear pseudo-momentum and give a new estimate for the achievable speed. Our analysis show that the effect exists and that it is finite.
PACS: 12.20.-m – Quantum electrodynamics / 03.70.+k – Theory of quantized fields / 11.10.Gh – Renormalization
© EPLA, 2010
Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.
Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.
Initial download of the metrics may take a while.