Hawking-Unruh Effect Research Articles

Locating quark-antiquark string breaking in QCD through chiral symmetry restoration and Hawking-Unruh effect

The relationship between QCD and the string model offers a valuable perspective for exploring the interaction potential between quarks. In this study, we investigate the restoration of chiral symmetry in connection with the Unruh effect experienced by accelerating observers. Utilizing the Schwinger model, we analyze the critical point at which the string or chromoelectric flux tube between quark-antiquarks breaks with increasing separation between quarks. In this study, the critical distance for quark-antiquark chromoelectric flux tube or string breaking is determined to be rc=1.294±0.040 fm. The acceleration and Unruh temperature corresponding to this critical point signify the transition of the system's chiral symmetry from a broken to a restored state. Our estimates for the critical acceleration (ac=1.14×1034 cm/s2) and Unruh temperature (Tc=0.038 GeV) align with previous studies. This analysis illuminates the interplay between chiral symmetry restoration, the Unruh effect, and the breaking of the string or chromoelectric flux tube within the context of quark interactions.

Physics of the Inverted Harmonic Oscillator: From the lowest Landau level to event horizons

In this work, we present the inverted harmonic oscillator (IHO) Hamiltonian as a paradigm to understand the quantum mechanics of scattering and time-decay in a diverse set of physical systems. As one of the generators of area preserving transformations, the IHO Hamiltonian can be studied as a dilatation generator, squeeze generator, a Lorentz boost generator, or a scattering potential. In establishing these different forms, we demonstrate the physics of the IHO that underlies phenomena as disparate as the Hawking–Unruh effect and scattering in the lowest Landau level (LLL) in quantum Hall systems. We derive the emergence of the IHO Hamiltonian in the LLL in a gauge invariant way and show its exact parallels with the Rindler Hamiltonian that describes quantum mechanics near event horizons. This approach of studying distinct physical systems with symmetries described by isomorphic Lie algebras through the emergent IHO Hamiltonian enables us to reinterpret geometric response in the lowest Landau level in terms of relativistic effects such as Wigner rotation. Further, the analytic scattering matrix of the IHO points to the existence of quasinormal modes (QNMs) in the spectrum, which have quantized time-decay rates. We present a way to access these QNMs through wave packet scattering, thus proposing a novel effect in quantum Hall point contact geometries that parallels those found in black holes.

Quantum Teleportation via Entangled State of Light in Schwarzschild Black Hole

In this paper, we describe the properties of quantum entanglement and teleportation between Alice and Bob who is freely falling toward the Schwarzschild black hole. To this aim, in the flat Minkowski spacetime before a black hole is formed, Alice and Bob share a two-mode entangled coherent state (ECS) generated by Kerr medium and the beam splitter. We will show that the degree of entanglement decreases with increasing the radius of black hole r. Moreover, the fidelity of quantum teleportation via ECS, as a quantum channel, is also reduced because of the Hawking-Unruh effect.

Hawking-Unruh effect associated with primordial black holes and maximum acceleration of elementary particles

Three decades ago an expression for the maximum acceleration of elementary particles was derived using quantum theory. There is no experimental confirmation of this so far. In this paper we study the phenomenon of acceleration of elementary particles by the surface gravity of primordial black holes (PBH) formed in the early universe and the associated Hawking-Unruh effect. From a heuristic theory we find that every elementary particle can be associated with a PBH of unique mass and Hawking temperature. This implies a unique Hawking-Unruh acceleration for each elementary particle. The inferred values of maximum acceleration from our theory range from 6.24 × 1033 m/s2 for top quarks to 1.85 × 1028 m/s2 for electrons. These values can be considered to be the maximum acceleration given by the general expression mc32h of elementary particles of given rest mass (m) due to the force of gravity. Elementary particles with the maximum Compton wavelength (10−4 m) and an inferred mass of 0.0185 eV (possibly neutrinos) are found to be associated with a PBH whose Hawking temperature is identical to the cosmic microwave background temperature of the present Universe.

Exploring the initial stage of high multiplicity proton-proton collisions by determining the initial temperature of the quark-gluon plasma

Recently, the CMS Collaboration has published identified particle transverse momentum spectra in high multiplicity events at LHC energies $\sqrt s $ = 0.9-13 TeV. In the present work the transverse momentum spectra have been analyzed in the framework of the color fields inside the clusters of overlapping strings, which are produced in high energy hadronic collisions. The non-Abelian nature is reflected in the coherence sum of the color fields which as a consequence gives rise to an enhancement of the transverse momentum and a suppression of the multiplicities relative to the non overlapping strings. The initial temperature and shear viscosity to entropy density ratio $\eta/s$ are obtained. For the higher multiplicity events at $\sqrt s $ =7 and 13 TeV the initial temperature is above the universal hadronization temperature and is consistent with the creation of de-confined matter. In these small systems it can be argued that the thermalization is a consequence of the quantum tunneling through the event horizon introduced by the confining color fields, in analogy to the Hawking-Unruh effect. The small shear viscosity to entropy density ratio $\eta/s$ near the critical temperature suggests that the matter is a strongly coupled Quark Gluon Plasma.

Quasinormal Modes and the Hawking-Unruh Effect in Quantum Hall Systems: Lessons from Black Hole Phenomena.

In this work, we propose the quantum Hall system as a platform for exploring black hole phenomena. By exhibiting deep rooted commonalities between the lowest Landau level and spacetime symmetries, we show that features of both quantum Hall and gravitational systems can be elegantly captured by a simple quantum mechanical model: the inverted harmonic oscillator. Through this correspondence, we argue that radiation phenomena in gravitational situations, such as presented by W. G. Unruh and S. Hawking, bear a parallel with saddle-potential scattering of quantum Hall quasiparticles. We also find that scattering by the quantum Hall saddle potential can mimic the signature quasinormal modes in black holes, such as theoretically demonstrated through Gaussian scattering off a Schwarzschild black hole by C. V. Vishveshwara. We propose a realistic quantum Hall point contact setup for probing these temporally decaying modes in quasiparticle tunneling, offering a new mesoscopic parallel for black hole ringdown.

On the Possible Anisotropy of the Unruh Radiation. Part I: Massless Scalar Field in (1+1)D Space-Time

The Unruh effect for a massless scalar field in (1 + 1)D space-time is considered. It is shown that, under some natural assumptions like finiteness of the integration volume or finiteness of the interaction (propagation of information) speed, the Unruh effect should be anisotropic. This property is not connected with a particular detector design but is fundamental like the Unruh effect itself. This consideration can be generalized to the case of massless and massive particles in (3 + 1)D space-time. The obtained result and its further development may be important for specific applications of the Hawking-Unruh effect such as the description of black hole evaporation and motion dynamics of accelerated bodies.

Hot Dense Matter: Deconfinement and Clustering of Color Sources in Nuclear Collisions

Within the first few microseconds from after the Big Bang, the hot dense matter was in the form of the Quark Gluon Plasm (QGP) consisting of free quarks and gluons. By colliding heavy nuclei at RHIC and LHC at a velocity close to the speed of light, we were able to create the primordial matter and observe the matter after expansion and cooling. In this report we present the thermodynamics and transport coefficients obtained in the framework of clustering of color sources in both hadron-hadron and nucleus-nucleus collisions at RHIC and LHC energies. Multiparticle production at high energies can be described in terms of color strings stretched between the projectile and target. At high string density single strings overlap and form color sources. This addition belongs to the non-perturbative domain of Quantum Chromo Dynamics (QGP) and manifests its most fundamental features. The Schwinger QED 2 mechanism produces color neutral q q ¯ pairs when color source strings break. Subsequent hardonization produces the observed hadrons. With growing energy and atomic number of the colliding nuclei the density of strings grows and more color sources form clusters in the transverse plane. At a certain critical density a macroscopic cluster appears, which marks the percolation phase transition. This is the Color String Percolation Model (CSPM). The critical density is identified as the deconfinement transition and happens at the hadronization temperature. The stochastic thermalization in p p and A-A is a consequence of the quantum tunneling through the event horizon introduced by the confining color fields, the Hawking-Unruh effect. The percolation approach within CSPM is successfully used to describe the crossover phase transition in the soft collision region. The same phenomenology when applied to both hadron-hadron and nucleus-nucleus collisions emphasizes the importance of color string density, creating a macroscopic cluster which identifies the connectivity required for a finite droplet of the QGP.

The origin of thermal component in the transverse momentum spectra in high energy hadronic processes

The transverse momentum spectra of hadrons produced in high energy collisions can be decomposed into two components: the exponential ("thermal") and the power ("hard") ones. Recently, the H1 Collaboration has discovered that the relative strength of these two components in Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS) depends drastically upon the global structure of the event — namely, the exponential component is absent in the diffractive events characterized by a rapidity gap. We discuss the possible origin of this effect and speculate that it is linked to confinement. Specifically, we argue that the thermal component is due to the effective event horizon introduced by the confining string, in analogy to the Hawking–Unruh effect. In diffractive events, the t-channel exchange is color-singlet and there is no fragmenting string — so the thermal component is absent. The slope of the soft component of the hadron spectrum in this picture is determined by the saturation momentum that drives the deceleration in the color field, and thus the Hawking–Unruh temperature. We analyze the data on nondiffractive pp collisions and find that the slope of the thermal component of the hadron spectrum is indeed proportional to the saturation momentum.

Onset and decay of the 1 + 1 Hawking–Unruh effect: what the derivative-coupling detector saw

We study an Unruh–DeWitt particle detector that is coupled to the proper time derivative of a real scalar field in 1 + 1 spacetime dimensions. Working within first-order perturbation theory, we cast the transition probability into a regulator-free form, and we show that the transition rate remains well defined in the limit of sharp switching. The detector is insensitive to the infrared ambiguity when the field becomes massless, and we verify explicitly the regularity of the massless limit for a static detector in Minkowski half-space. We then consider a massless field for two scenarios of interest for the Hawking–Unruh effect: an inertial detector in Minkowski spacetime with an exponentially receding mirror, and an inertial detector in -dimensional Schwarzschild spacetime, in the Hartle–Hawking–Israel and Unruh vacua. In the mirror spacetime the transition rate traces the onset of an energy flux from the mirror, with the expected Planckian late time asymptotics. In the Schwarzschild spacetime the transition rate of a detector that falls in from infinity gradually loses thermality, diverging near the singularity proportionally to .

Cavities in curved spacetimes: The response of particle detectors

We introduce a method to compute particle detector transition probability in spacetime regions of general curved spacetimes provided that the curvature is not above a maximum threshold. In particular we use this method to compare the response of two detectors, one in a spherically symmetric gravitational field and the other one in Rindler spacetime to compare the Unruh and Hawking effects: We study the vacuum response of a detector freely falling through a stationary cavity in a Schwarzschild background as compared with the response of an equivalently accelerated detector traveling through an inertial cavity in the absence of curvature. We find that as we set the cavity in further radiuses from the black hole, the thermal radiation measured by the detector approaches the quantity recorded by the detector in Rindler background showing in which way and at what scales the equivalent principle is recovered in the Hawking-Unruh effect. I.e. when the Hawking effect in a Schwarzschild background becomes equivalent to the Unruh effect in Rindler spacetime.

The Quantum Entanglement in the Back Ground of Gauss-Bonnet Gravity for a Generically Entangled State

In this work the Hawking-Unruh effect on the quantum entanglement of bosonic field in background of a spherically symmetric black hole of Gauss-Bonnet gravity is investigated beyond the single mode approximation. The entanglement decreases due to Hawking-Unruh effect. However, it has been shown that the dimensions of space time, Gauss-Bonnet term and the parameter β of initial entangled state would be influenced on this degradation. In our investigation, we consider the accelerated observer either near or far from the event horizon and inspect entanglement degradation for them. The mutual information of this bosonic system is also calculated in beyond the single mode approximation and we show that the mutual information will have different behavior when the Hawking temperature increases.

Graphene: QFT in curved spacetimes close to experiments

A recently proposed step-by-step procedure, to merge the low-energy physics of the π-bonds electrons of graphene, and quantum field theory on curved spacetimes, is recalled. The last step there is the proposal of an experiment to test a Hawking-Unruh effect, emerging from the model, that manifests itself as an exact (within the model) prediction for the electronic local density of states, in the ideal case of the graphene membrane shaped as a Beltrami pseudosphere. A discussion about one particular attempt to experimentally test the model on molecular graphene is presented, and it is taken as an excuse to solve some basic issues that will help future experiments. In particular, it is stated that the effect should be visible on generic surfaces of constant negative Gaussian curvature, that are infinite in number.

The Hawking–Unruh phenomenon on graphene

We find that, for a very specific shape of a monolayer graphene sample, a general relativistic-like description of a back-ground spacetime for grapheneʼs conductivity electrons is very natural. The corresponding electronic local density of states is of finite temperature. This is a Hawking–Unruh effect that we propose to detect through an experiment with a Scanning Tunneling Microscope.

Reduction of entanglement degradation in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity

Bipartite entanglement for states of a noninteracting bosonic or fermionic field in the spacetime of a spherically symmetric black hole of Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity is investigated. Although the initial state is chosen to be maximally entangled as the Bell states, the Hawking-Unruh effect causes the state to be mixed and the entanglement degrades, but with different asymptotic behaviors for the fermionic and bosonic fields. The Gauss-Bonnet term with positive $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ can play an antigravitation role and so this causes a decrease in the Hawking-Unruh effect and consequently reduces the entanglement degradation. On the other hand, the suggested higher dimensions for the spacetime lead to increased entanglement degradation by increasing the dimension. There is a dramatic difference between the behaviors of the entanglement in terms of the radius of the horizon for a five-dimensional black hole and that for higher dimensional black holes. Both bosonic and fermionic fields entanglements are treated beyond the single-mode approximation. Also, the cases where the accelerating observers located at regions near and far from the event horizon of black hole are studied separately.

Topological Geon Black Holes in Einstein-Yang-Mills Theory

We construct topological geon quotients of two families of Einstein-Yang-Mills black holes. For Kuenzle's static, spherically symmetric SU(n) black holes with n>2, a geon quotient exists but generically requires promoting charge conjugation into a gauge symmetry. For Kleihaus and Kunz's static, axially symmetric SU(2) black holes a geon quotient exists without gauging charge conjugation, and the parity of the gauge field winding number determines whether the geon gauge bundle is trivial. The geon's gauge bundle structure is expected to have an imprint in the Hawking-Unruh effect for quantum fields that couple to the background gauge field.

Geon black holes and quantum field theory

Black hole spacetimes that are topological geons in the sense of Sorkin can be constructed by taking a quotient of a stationary black hole that has a bifurcate Killing horizon. We discuss the geometric properties of these geon black holes and the Hawking-Unruh effect on them. We in particular show how correlations in the Hawking-Unruh effect reveal to an exterior observer features of the geometry that are classically confined to the regions behind the horizons.

Laboratory soft x-ray emission due to the Hawking–Unruh effect?

The structure of spacetime, quantum field theory, and thermodynamics are all connected through the concepts of the Hawking and Unruh temperatures. The possible detection of the related radiation constitutes a fundamental test of such subtle connections. Here a scheme is presented for the detection of Unruh radiation based on currently available laser systems. By separating the classical radiation from the Unruh response in frequency space, it is found that the detection of Unruh radiation is possible in terms of soft x-ray photons using current laser-electron beam technology. The experimental constraints are discussed and a proposal for an experimental design is given.

Dynamical breaking and restoration of chiral and color symmetries for an accelerated observer and in the static Einstein universe

We investigate the formation of quark and diquark condensates in two different situations. First, we study the phenomenon of chiral and color symmetry breaking and their restoration for a uniformly accelerated observer due to the thermalization Hawking–Unruh effect. The gap equations for quark and diquark condensates with finite chemical potential are constructed. The critical value of acceleration is also obtained. Second, we consider the phase transitions in dense matter with quark and diquark condensates in the static Einstein universe at finite temperature and chemical potential. The nonperturbative expression for the thermodynamic potential is obtained. The phase portraits of the system are constructed.

Quantum entanglement and teleportation in higher dimensional black hole spacetimes

We study the properties of quantum entanglement and teleportation in the background of stationary and rotating curved spacetimes with extra dimensions. We show that a maximally entangled Bell state in an inertial frame becomes less entangled in curved space due to the well-known Hawking–Unruh effect. The degree of entanglement is found to be degraded with the increase in the extra dimensions. For a finite black hole surface gravity, the observer may choose a higher frequency mode to keep high level entanglement. The fidelity of quantum teleportation is also reduced because of the Hawking–Unruh effect. We discuss the fidelity as a function of extra dimensions, mode frequency, black hole mass and black hole angular momentum parameter for both bosonic and fermionic resources.