Abstract
In this work, based on the worldline path integral representation of the vacuum energy in spacetime with a Lorentzian metric, we provide a new but complementary interpretation of the Unruh effect. We perform the quantization of the massless free scalar field in Rindler space specifying initial and final conditions. After quantization, the final outcome for the vacuum energy is interpreted as world line path integrals. In this picture we find that the Unruh radiation is made of real particles as well as real antiparticles. The prediction regarding the presence of antiparticles in the radiation might open new lines for experimental detection of the effect. We present a thought experiment which offers a clear picture and supports the new interpretation.
Highlights
Since the seminal work [1,2], the physics community has been struggling to figure out the origin of the Hawking radiation and how to solve the paradoxes that it generates.Several interpretations have emerged over the last forty years [3,4,5,6,7], but the problem remains unsolved
A noninertial observer in flat space, having a proper constant acceleration, i.e., a Rindler observer [11], measures a vacuum energy given by the Planck thermal distribution with a temperature proportional to the acceleration T 1⁄4 2ħπcak
From the canonical quantization point of view, it has been understood [8] that the Rindler observer experiences a different vacuum, in other words, different initial conditions compared to the Minkowski observer
Summary
Since the seminal work [1,2], the physics community has been struggling to figure out the origin of the Hawking radiation and how to solve the paradoxes that it generates. From the canonical quantization point of view, it has been understood [8] that the Rindler observer experiences a different vacuum, in other words, different initial conditions compared to the Minkowski observer Instead of performing the ordinary canonical quantization where the initial value of the field operator and its conjugate momentum have to be specified, we quantize the massless free scalar field in Rindler space, imposing initial and final conditions at the points where the acceleration is turned on and off The advantage of this quantization scheme is that by means of the propagators, expressed as worldline path integrals, between the initial and final states in Rindler space, we can trace the particles running in loops in spacetime with a Lorentzian metric, which are the ones that contribute to the vacuum energy
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