Motion induced excitation and electromagnetic radiation from an atom facing a thin mirror

TL;DR

This paper investigates how a non-relativistic atom's excitation and photon emission probabilities are affected by motion near a thin conducting mirror, extending previous scalar models to a realistic electromagnetic setting.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of atom-field interactions considering realistic electromagnetic boundary conditions, advancing understanding of motion-induced excitation and radiation.

Findings

Enhanced photon emission near the mirror due to motion

Comparison of emission rates with static atom facing a moving mirror

Extension of scalar models to full electromagnetic case

Abstract

We evaluate the probability of (de-)excitation and photon emission from a neutral, moving, non-relativistic atom, coupled to the quantum electromagnetic field and in the presence of a thin, perfectly conducting plane ("mirror"). These results extend, to a more realistic model, the ones we had presented for a scalar model, where the would-be electron was described by a scalar variable, coupled to an (also scalar) vacuum field. The latter was subjected to either Dirichlet or Neumann conditions on a plane. In our evaluation of the spontaneous emission rate produced when the accelerated atom is initially in an excited state, we pay attention to its comparison with the somewhat opposite situation, namely, an atom at rest facing a moving mirror.