Polarization of vacuum fluctuations: source of the vacuum permittivity and speed of light

TL;DR

This paper proposes a model where vacuum fluctuations polarize similarly to dielectric materials, allowing calculation of vacuum permittivity and the speed of light, with results close to accepted physical constants.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to derive vacuum permittivity and light speed from quantum vacuum polarization effects.

Findings

Calculated vacuum permittivity within 2.7% of the accepted value.

Derived the vacuum speed of light from polarization effects.

Supported the invariance of light speed across inertial frames.

Abstract

There are two types of fluctuations in the quantum vacuum: type 1 vacuum fluctuations are on shell and can interact with matter in specific, limited ways that have observable consequences; type 2 vacuum fluctuations are off shell and cannot interact with matter. A photon will polarize a type 1, bound, charged lepton-antilepton vacuum fluctuation in much the same manner that it would polarize a dielectric, suggesting the method used here for calculating the permittivity $\epsilon_0$ of the vacuum. In a model that retains only leading terms, $\epsilon_0 \cong (6\mu_0/\pi)(8e^2/\hbar)^2= 9.10\times 10^{-12}$ C/(Vm). The calculated value for $\epsilon_0$ is 2.7\% more than the accepted value. The permittivity of the vacuum, in turn, determines the speed $c$ of light in the vacuum. Since the vacuum is at rest with respect to every inertial frame of reference, $c$ is the same in every inertial reference frame.