Unruh effect for general trajectories

被引:31
|
作者
Obadia, N. [1 ]
Milgrom, M. [1 ]
机构
[1] Weizmann Inst Sci, Ctr Astrophys, IL-76100 Rehovot, Israel
关键词
D O I
10.1103/PhysRevD.75.065006
中图分类号
P1 [天文学];
学科分类号
0704 ;
摘要
We consider two-level detectors coupled to a scalar field and moving on arbitrary trajectories in Minkowski space-time. We first derive a generic expression for the response function using a (novel) regularization procedure based on the Feynman prescription that is explicitly causal, and we compare it to other expressions used in the literature. We then use this expression to study, analytically and numerically, the time dependence of the response function in various nonstationarity situations. We show that, generically, the response function decreases like a power in the detector's level spacing, E, for high E. It is only for stationary worldlines that the response function decays faster than any power law, in keeping with the known exponential behavior for some stationary cases. Under some conditions the (time-dependent) response function for a nonstationary worldline is well approximated by the value of the response function for a stationary worldline having the same instantaneous acceleration, torsion, and hypertorsion. While we cannot offer general conditions for this to apply, we discuss special cases; in particular, the low-energy limit for linear space trajectories.
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页数:11
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