Classical and quantum reconciliation of electromagnetic radiation: vector Unruh modes and zero-Rindler-energy photons

Abstract

A great deal of evidence has been mounting over the years showing a deep connection between acceleration, radiation, and the Unruh effect. Indeed, the fact that the Unruh effect can be codified in the Larmor radiation emitted by the charge was used to propose an experiment to experimentally confirm the existence of the Unruh thermal bath. However, such connection has two puzzling issues: (1) how the quantum Unruh effect can be codified in the classical Larmor radiation and (2) the fundamental role played by zero-Rindler-energy modes of the Unruh thermal bath in such a context. Here we generalize a recent analysis made for the scalar case to the more realistic case of Maxwell electrodynamics and settle these two puzzling issues.

arXiv comment13 pages, 2 figures. Some corrections added

References in corpus (5)

• The Unruh effect and its applications
• Proposal for observing the Unruh effect with classical electrodynamics
• Entanglement of the Vacuum between Left, Right, Future, and Past: The Origin of Entanglement-Induced Quantum Radiation
• Classical and quantum aspects of the radiation emitted by a uniformly accelerated charge: Larmor--Unruh reconciliation and zero-frequency Rindler modes
• The role of Unruh effect in Bremsstrahlung

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Classical Larmor formula through the Unruh effect for uniformly accelerated electrons
• Acceleration-induced radiation from a qudit particle detector model
• Gravitational Waves Emitted by a Uniformly Accelerated Mass: The Role of Zero-Rindler-Energy Modes in the Classical and Quantum Descriptions
• Back-action from inertial and non-inertial Unruh-DeWitt detectors revisited in covariant perturbation theory