Accelerated detectors and worldsheet horizons in AdS/CFT

TL;DR

This paper explores how accelerated observers in AdS/CFT detect quantum vacuum fluctuations, linking the presence of a worldsheet horizon in string models to an Unruh-like temperature and vacuum interaction transitions.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of a worldsheet horizon as a detector of quantum vacuum fluctuations and analyzes its relation to acceleration and string embeddings in AdS/CFT.

Findings

Existence of a worldsheet horizon correlates with non-trivial vacuum detection.

Derived an Unruh-like temperature for the worldsheet horizon.

Identified a transition between string embeddings with and without horizons.

Abstract

We use the AdS/CFT correspondence to discuss the response of an accelerated observer to the quantum vacuum fluctuations. In particular, we study heavy quarks probing a strongly coupled CFT by analysing strings moving in AdS. We propose that, in this context, a non-trivial detection rate is associated to the existence of a worldsheet horizon and we find an Unruh-like expression for the worldsheet temperature. Finally, by examining a rotating string in global AdS we find that there is a transition between string embeddings with and without worldsheet horizon. The dual picture corresponds to having non-trivial or trivial interaction with the quantum vacuum respectively. This is in qualitative agreement with results of Davies et al.