A classical model for a photodetector in the presence of electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations

TL;DR

This paper proposes a classical model for photodetectors that explains their behavior in the presence of electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations, aligning with quantum results at high intensities and accounting for dark counts at low intensities.

Contribution

It introduces a classical model that reproduces quantum-like photodetector responses, including dark counts and proportional counting rates at high intensities.

Findings

Counting rate is a non-linear function of intensity.

At high intensity, counting rate is proportional to the signal.

Dark counts occur at low signal intensities.

Abstract

The main argument against the reality of the electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations is that they do not activate photon detectors. In order to meet this objection we propose a classical model of a photodetector which, in the simple case of a light signal with constant intensity, gives a counting rate which is a non-linear function of the intensity. For sufficiently large signal intensity, the counting rate is proportional to the intensity, in agreement with the standard quantum results, but there is a dark rate when the signal intensity is low.