On the gravitational field of a point-like body immersed in quantum vacuum

Abstract

Quantum vacuum and matter immersed in it interact through electromagnetic, strong and weak interactions. However, we have zero knowledge of the gravitational properties of the quantum vacuum. As an illustration of possible fundamental gravitational impact of the quantum vacuum, we study the gravitational field of an immersed point-like body. It is done under the working hypothesis, that quantum vacuum fluctuations are virtual gravitational dipoles (i.e. two gravitational charges of the same magnitude but opposite sign); by the way, this hypothesis makes quantum vacuum free of the cosmological constant problem. The major result is that a point-like body creates a halo of the polarized quantum vacuum around itself, which acts as an additional source of gravity. There is a maximal magnitude g_qvmax, of the gravitational acceleration that can be caused by the polarized quantum vacuum; the small size of this magnitude is the reason why in some cases (for instance within the Solar System) the quantum vacuum can be neglected. Advanced experiments at CERN and forthcoming astronomical observations will reveal if this is true or not, but we point to already existing empirical evidence that seemingly supports this fascinating possibility.

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Cited by in corpus (8)

• From galactic bars to the Hubble tension: weighing up the astrophysical evidence for Milgromian gravity
• Strong constraints on the gravitational law from $Gaia$ DR3 wide binaries
• Solar System limits on gravitational dipoles
• Vacuum polarization instead of "dark matter" in a galaxy
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• MOND-like behavior in the Dirac-Milne universe -- Flat rotation curves and mass/velocity relations in galaxies and clusters
• Gravitational polarization of the quantum vacuum caused by two point-like bodies
• Antimatter Gravity Experiments, the Astronomical Challenges to Lambda-CDM Cosmology and the Quantum Vacuum as a Possible Source of Gravity in the Universe