Qubit Motion as a Microscopic Model for the Dynamical Casimir Effect

TL;DR

This paper proposes a microscopic model for the dynamical Casimir effect using a moving qubit in a cavity, demonstrating photon generation without boundary condition changes, offering insights into quantum vacuum phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces a simple qubit-based microscopic model for the dynamical Casimir effect that reproduces photon creation without time-dependent boundary conditions.

Findings

Photon generation occurs without changing the qubit state.

The model reproduces key features of the dynamical Casimir effect.

Photon production depends on the qubit's movement, not its physical properties.

Abstract

The generation of photons from the vacuum by means of the movement of a mirror is known as the dynamical Casimir effect (DCE). In general, this phenomenon is effectively described by a field with time-dependent boundary conditions. Alternatively, we consider a microscopic model of the DCE capable of reproducing the effect with no time-dependent boundary conditions. Besides the field, such a model comprises a subsystem modeling the mirror's internal structure. In this work, we study the most straightforward system for the mirror: a qubit moving in a cavity and coupled to one of the bosonic modes. We find that under certain conditions on the qubit's movement that do not depend on its physical properties, a large number of photons may be generated without changing the qubit state, as should be expected for a microscopic model of the mirror.