Tunneling of the 3rd Kind: A Test of the Effective Non-locality of Quantum Field Theory

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel test for the non-locality inherent in effective quantum field theories by examining a tunneling process involving virtual particles, with a potential quantum-optical experimental setup.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of tunneling of the 3rd kind as a direct test for the non-locality of effective quantum field theories and sketches an experimental approach.

Findings

Theoretical demonstration of tunneling of the 3rd kind.

Proposal of a quantum-optical setup to observe this effect.

Analysis of observable consequences in a toy model.

Abstract

Integrating out virtual quantum fluctuations in an originally local quantum field theory results in an effective theory which is non-local. In this Letter we argue that tunneling of the 3rd kind - where particles traverse a barrier by splitting into a pair of virtual particles which recombine only after a finite distance - provides a direct test of this non-locality. We sketch a quantum-optical setup to test this effect, and investigate observable effects in a simple toy model.