Towards detecting traces of non-contact quantum friction in the corrections of the accumulated geometric phase

TL;DR

This paper proposes an innovative experimental method using geometric phase corrections to detect quantum friction effects between a neutral particle and a dielectric sheet in quantum vacuum, potentially enabling the first observation of this elusive force.

Contribution

It introduces a novel experimental scheme to detect quantum friction by measuring velocity-dependent geometric phase corrections in a NV center in diamond.

Findings

The geometric phase correction depends on particle velocity and environment.

The proposed method can distinguish contributions from dielectric presence and vacuum motion.

Short timescale corrections can be observed while maintaining system purity.

Abstract

The geometric phase can be used as a fruitful venue of investigation to infer features of the quantum systems. Its application can reach new theoretical frontiers and imply innovative and challenging experimental proposals. Herein, we take advantage of the geometric phase to sense the corrections induced while a neutral particle travels at constant velocity in front of an imperfect sheet in quantum vacuum. As it is already known, two bodies in relative motion at constant velocity experience a quantum contactless dissipative force, known as quantum friction. This force has eluded experimental detection so far due to its small magnitude and short range. However, we give details of an innovative experiment designed to track traces of the quantum friction by measuring the velocity dependence of corrections to the geometric phase. We notice that the environmentally induced corrections can be decomposed in different contributions: corrections induced by the presence of the dielectric sheet and the motion of the particle in quantum vacuum. As the geometric phase accumulates over time, its correction becomes relevant at a relative short timescale, while the system still preserves purity. The experimentally viable scheme presented would be the first one in tracking traces of quantum friction through the study of decoherence effects on a NV center in diamond.