Tunneling of the 3rd Kind: A Test of the Effective Non-locality of Quantum Field Theory
arXiv:1204.4802 · doi:10.1209/0295-5075/101/61001
Abstract
Integrating out virtual quantum fluctuations in an originally local quantum field theory results in an effective theory which is non-local. In this Letter we argue that tunneling of the 3rd kind - where particles traverse a barrier by splitting into a pair of virtual particles which recombine only after a finite distance - provides a direct test of this non-locality. We sketch a quantum-optical setup to test this effect, and investigate observable effects in a simple toy model.
4 pages, 2 figures. Updated to match version published in EPL
References in corpus (6)
- Cavity QED with a Bose-Einstein condensate
- Generalized rotating-wave approximation for arbitrarily large coupling
- Single Particle Tunneling in Strongly Driven Double Well Potentials
- Magnetically amplified tunneling of the 3rd kind as a probe of minicharged particles
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- Tunneling of the 3rd kind