Quantum Electric Field Fluctuations and Potential Scattering

TL;DR

This paper explores how quantum electric field fluctuations influence potential scattering, showing they can enhance transmission probabilities in both above barrier scattering and tunneling, with implications for nonperturbative effects.

Contribution

It introduces a simple argument linking vacuum electric field fluctuations to radiative corrections in potential scattering, highlighting the role of potential shape and suggesting nonperturbative enhancements.

Findings

Electric field fluctuations increase transmission probabilities.

Potential shape influences the sampling of quantum fluctuations.

Nonperturbative effects may further enhance tunneling probabilities.

Abstract

Some physical effects of time averaged quantum electric field fluctuations are discussed. The one loop radiative correction to potential scattering are approximately derived from simple arguments which invoke vacuum electric field fluctuations. For both above barrier scattering and quantum tunneling, this effect increases the transmission probability. It is argued that the shape of the potential determines a sampling function for the time averaging of the quantum electric field operator. We also suggest that there is a nonperturbative enhancement of the transmission probability which can be inferred from the probability distribution for time averaged electric field fluctuations.