Dynamical Casimir effect in oscillating media

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that oscillating media with constant material properties can produce photon pairs through a process akin to the dynamical Casimir effect, with photon generation occurring throughout the volume due to parametric resonance.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism for photon production in oscillating media, distinct from boundary-based effects, highlighting volume-wide dynamical Casimir phenomena.

Findings

Photon pairs are generated in oscillating media with constant material coefficients.

Parametric resonance regions lead to exponential photon amplification.

Photon production occurs throughout the entire volume, not just at boundaries.

Abstract

We show that oscillations of a homogeneous medium with constant material coefficients produce pairs of photons. Classical analysis of an oscillating medium reveals regions of parametric resonance where the electromagnetic waves are exponentially amplified. The quantum counterpart of parametric resonance is an exponentially growing number of photons in the same parameter regions. This process may be viewed as another manifestation of the dynamical Casimir effect. However, in contrast to the standard dynamical Casimir effect, photon production here takes place in the entire volume and is not due to time dependence of the boundary conditions or material constants.