Causality in quantum optics and entanglement of Minkowski vacuum
Emission of photons by atoms can occur into modes which extend into a region causally disconnected with the emitter. For example, a uniformly accelerated ground-state atom emits a photon into the Unruh-Minkowski mode which is exponentially larger in the causally disconnected region. This makes an im...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Physical Society
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Physical Review Research |
| Online Access: | http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.013202 |
| _version_ | 1797211096438800384 |
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| author | Anatoly Svidzinsky Arash Azizi Jonathan S. Ben-Benjamin Marlan O. Scully William Unruh |
| author_facet | Anatoly Svidzinsky Arash Azizi Jonathan S. Ben-Benjamin Marlan O. Scully William Unruh |
| author_sort | Anatoly Svidzinsky |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Emission of photons by atoms can occur into modes which extend into a region causally disconnected with the emitter. For example, a uniformly accelerated ground-state atom emits a photon into the Unruh-Minkowski mode which is exponentially larger in the causally disconnected region. This makes an impression that photon emission is acausal. Here we show that conventional quantum optical analysis yields that a detector atom will not detect the emitted photon in the region noncausally connected with the emitter. However, joint excitation probability of atoms in the causally disconnected regions can be correlated due to entanglement of Minkowski vacuum and be much larger than the product of independent excitation probabilities. Moreover, atoms uniformly accelerated in the same Rindler wedge cannot become simultaneously excited without changing the state of the field, that is, the Unruh-Minkowski photon emitted by one atom cannot be absorbed by the other atom. We discuss examples demonstrating interesting features of Minkowski vacuum entanglement. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:21:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ee75449a6abf4c53b13fd54329e13841 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2643-1564 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:21:03Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | American Physical Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Physical Review Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-ee75449a6abf4c53b13fd54329e138412024-04-12T17:07:52ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review Research2643-15642021-03-013101320210.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.013202Causality in quantum optics and entanglement of Minkowski vacuumAnatoly SvidzinskyArash AziziJonathan S. Ben-BenjaminMarlan O. ScullyWilliam UnruhEmission of photons by atoms can occur into modes which extend into a region causally disconnected with the emitter. For example, a uniformly accelerated ground-state atom emits a photon into the Unruh-Minkowski mode which is exponentially larger in the causally disconnected region. This makes an impression that photon emission is acausal. Here we show that conventional quantum optical analysis yields that a detector atom will not detect the emitted photon in the region noncausally connected with the emitter. However, joint excitation probability of atoms in the causally disconnected regions can be correlated due to entanglement of Minkowski vacuum and be much larger than the product of independent excitation probabilities. Moreover, atoms uniformly accelerated in the same Rindler wedge cannot become simultaneously excited without changing the state of the field, that is, the Unruh-Minkowski photon emitted by one atom cannot be absorbed by the other atom. We discuss examples demonstrating interesting features of Minkowski vacuum entanglement.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.013202 |
| spellingShingle | Anatoly Svidzinsky Arash Azizi Jonathan S. Ben-Benjamin Marlan O. Scully William Unruh Causality in quantum optics and entanglement of Minkowski vacuum Physical Review Research |
| title | Causality in quantum optics and entanglement of Minkowski vacuum |
| title_full | Causality in quantum optics and entanglement of Minkowski vacuum |
| title_fullStr | Causality in quantum optics and entanglement of Minkowski vacuum |
| title_full_unstemmed | Causality in quantum optics and entanglement of Minkowski vacuum |
| title_short | Causality in quantum optics and entanglement of Minkowski vacuum |
| title_sort | causality in quantum optics and entanglement of minkowski vacuum |
| url | http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.013202 |
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