skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: The Cumulative Effect of Vacuum Radiation on Particle Coordinates

Journal Article · · AIP Conference Proceedings
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3536451· OSTI ID:21510009
 [1]
  1. 127 Williams St. 1, San Leandro, CA 94577 (United States)

The action principle can predict the trajectories of a system of particles as determined by the dynamical forces acting on them. However, its predictions do not include the results of quantum fluctuations in the coordinates of the particles. It is proposed that quantum fluctuations shift the particles from one dynamical trajectory to another and that the change in action due to a root mean square shift in an individual coordinate is the same, regardless of which coordinate is shifted. This assumption, together with the uncertainty principle, implies that the cumulative effect of changes in energy and momentum varies as t{sup -1/2}, where t is time, so that these quantities tend to be conserved. However, the cumulative effect of changes in spatial coordinate varies as t{sup 1/2}, so this coordinate shows a Brownian drift over time. An example is given in which this stochastic drift, with its characteristic t{sup 1/2} dependence, could be experimentally observed at the beginning of a highly collimated particle beam.

OSTI ID:
21510009
Journal Information:
AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1316, Issue 1; Conference: 7. Vigier symposium: International symposium honoring French mathematical physicist Jean-Pierre Vigier, London (United Kingdom), 12-14 Jul 2010; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3536451; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0094-243X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Pairing-induced speedup of nuclear spontaneous fission
Journal Article · Mon Dec 22 00:00:00 EST 2014 · Physical Review C, Nuclear Physics · OSTI ID:21510009

Hubble expansion and structure formation in time varying vacuum models
Journal Article · Thu Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 2009 · Physical Review. D, Particles Fields · OSTI ID:21510009

Curvature coordinates in cosmology
Journal Article · Sun Jan 15 00:00:00 EST 1984 · Phys. Rev. D; (United States) · OSTI ID:21510009