Quantum Harmonic Oscillator Subjected to Quantum Vacuum Fluctuations

Abstract

Spontaneous transitions between bound states of an atomic system, ”Lamb Shift” of energy level, as well as many other phenomena in real nonrelativistic quantum systems are connected with the influence of quantum vacuum fluctuations which are impossible to consider in the limits of standard quantum‐mechanical approaches. The joint system “quantum harmonic oscillator (QHO) + environment” is described in terms of complex probabilistic processes (CPP) which satisfies a stochastic differential equation (SDE) of Langevin‐Schrödinger (L‐Sch) type. On the basis of orthogonal CPP, the method of stochastic density matrix (SDM) is developed. The energy spectrum of QHO and a possibility of infringement of detailed balance of transitions between quantum levels including spontaneous decay of ≪ground state≫ are investigated by the SDM method.