Vacuum friction. Issue 1 (2nd January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Barnett, Stephen M.; Sonnleitner, Matthias
• Is Part Of: Journal of modern optics. Volume 65:Issue 1(2018)
• Page Start: 23
• Page End: 29
• Publication Date: 2018-01-02
• Subjects: Optical forces -- spontaneous emission -- Doppler shifts -- trapped ions; Optics -- Periodicals; 535
• DOI: 10.1080/09500340.2017.1374482
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0950-0340

Abstract

Abstract : We know that in empty space there is no preferred state of rest. This is true both in special relativity but also in Newtonian mechanics with its associated Galilean relativity. It comes as something of a surprise, therefore, to discover the existence a friction force associated with spontaneous emission. The resolution of this paradox relies on a central idea from special relativity even though our derivation of it is non-relativistic. We examine the possibility that the physics underlying this effect might be explored in an ion trap, via the observation of a superposition of different mass states.