Towards detecting traces of non-contact quantum friction in the corrections of the accumulated geometric phase

M Belén Farías,Alejandro Soba,Fernando C Lombardo,Paula I Villar,Ricardo S Decca

doi:10.1038/s41534-020-0252-x

Abstract

The geometric phase can be used as a fruitful venue of investigation to infer features of the quantum systems. Its application can reach new theoretical frontiers and imply innovative and challenging experimental proposals. Herein, we take advantage of the geometric phase to sense the corrections induced while a neutral particle travels at constant velocity in front of an imperfect sheet in quantum vacuum. As it is already known, two bodies in relative motion at constant velocity experience a quantum contactless dissipative force, known as quantum friction. This force has eluded experimental detection so far due to its small magnitude and short range. However, we give details of an innovative experiment designed to track traces of the quantum friction by measuring the velocity dependence of corrections to the geometric phase. We notice that the environmentally induced corrections can be decomposed in different contributions: corrections induced by the presence of the dielectric sheet and the motion of the particle in quantum vacuum. As the geometric phase accumulates over time, its correction becomes relevant at a relative short timescale, while the system still preserves purity. The experimentally viable scheme presented would be the first one in tracking traces of quantum friction through the study of decoherence effects on a NV center in diamond.

Highlights

One of the most exciting features of quantum field theory is based on the nontrivial structure of the vacuum state and the observable macroscopic effects associated to quantum vacuum fluctuations
1234567890():,; Fig. 1 We study the geometric phase (GP) acquired by a two-level system coupled to the quantum vacuum in front of a dielectric sheet. a The center of mass of the particle moves with constant velocity v at a fixed distance a of the dielectric sheet. b The particle behaves as a two-level system coupled via a dipolar interaction to the vacuum field, which is dressed by the presence of the dielectric plate. c Scheme of the evolution of a two-level system in the Bloch sphere for an unitary evolution and environmentally induced trajectories
We have found a proper scenario to indirectly detect the quantum friction (QF) by measuring the GP acquired by a particle moving in front of a dielectric plate

Summary

Introduction

One of the most exciting features of quantum field theory is based on the nontrivial structure of the vacuum state and the observable macroscopic effects associated to quantum vacuum fluctuations. The only dynamic-observable macroscopic effect that has allowed experimental observation of DCE was based on electromagnetic analogs of a moving mirror using a tunable reflecting element in a superconducting device.[23,24] since the predicted QF is very small in magnitude and short ranged, its experimental detection has become an absolute challenge so far.[25] Lately, there have been a variety configurations[26] and theoretical efforts devoted into finding favorable conditions for experimental measurements of QF.[27,28,29,30,31,32,33] In refs 34,35, authors have investigated the van der Waals friction between graphene and an amorphous SiO2 substrate They found that due to this friction the electric current is saturated at a high electric field. The saturation current depends weakly on the temperature, which they attributed to the quantum friction between the graphene carriers and the substrate optical phonons

Methods

Results

Conclusion