Zero-Point Energy, Fluctuations, and Dissipation: A (Mostly) Quantum-Optical Perspective

• Speaker: Prof. Milonni, Peter (Univ. of Rochester)
• Date: November 14, 2017
• Place: Science Building 433

Following a brief review of how the concept of zero-point energy first appeared in quantum theory, I will describe some of the evidence for electromagnetic zero-point energy and quantum field fluctuations. Attention will then be focused on fluctuation-dissipation relations which allow different physical interpretations of effects usually associated with changes in zero-point field energy, and which bear on the question of whether equations of motion determine commutation relations. Quantum Langevin equations with zero-point fluctuations and dissipation will be shown to lead straightforwardly to expressions for quantized electromagnetic fields in dissipative media. Implications of vacuum field fluctuations and zero-point energy will be discussed in the context of recent experiments on spontaneous parametric down-conversion and for a proposed experiment probing Planck-scale physics.