Dynamical Casimir Effect in optically modulated cavities

¹ School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, SUPA, Heriot-Watt University - Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK, EU
² INO-CNR BEC Center and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trento - via Sommarive 14, 38123 Povo (Trento), Italy, EU

^a d.faccio@hw.ac.uk

Received: 30 July 2011
Accepted: 6 September 2011

Abstract

Cavities with periodically oscillating mirrors have been predicted to excite photon pairs out of the quantum vacuum in a process known as the Dynamical Casimir Effect. Here we propose and analyse an experimental layout that can provide an efficient modulation of the effective optical length of a cavity mode in the near-infrared spectral region. An analytical model of the dynamical Casimir emission is developed and compared to the predictions of a direct numerical solution of Maxwell's equations in real time. A sizeable intensity of dynamical Casimir emission is anticipated for realistic operating parameters. In the presence of an external coherent seed beam, we predict amplification of the seed beam and the appearance of an additional phase-conjugate beam as a consequence of stimulated dynamical Casimir processes.