Relativistic Unruh-DeWitt detectors with quantized center of mass

TL;DR

This paper extends the Unruh-DeWitt detector model to include a relativistic quantized center of mass, comparing two approaches and analyzing their differing predictions for localization and emission rates, with implications for experimental distinguishability.

Contribution

It introduces a relativistic quantized center of mass into the UDW model and compares first- and second-quantized treatments, highlighting differences in localization and measurable predictions.

Findings

Different localization notions between models

Distinct spontaneous emission rate predictions

Models can be empirically distinguished

Abstract

In this paper, we extend the Unruh-DeWitt (UDW) model to include a relativistic quantized center of mass (c.m.) for the detector, which traditionally has a classical c.m. and follows a classical trajectory. We develop a relativistic model of an inertial detector following two different approaches, starting from either a first- or second-quantized treatment, which enables us to compare the fundamental differences between the two schemes. In particular, we find that the notion of localization is different between the two models, and leads to distinct predictions, which we study by comparing the spontaneous emission rates for the UDW detector interacting with a massless scalar field. Furthermore, we consider the UDW system in both a vacuum and medium, and compare our results to existing models describing a classical or quantized c.m. at low energies. We find that the predictions of each model, including the two relativistic cases, can in principle be empirically distinguished, and our results can be further extended to find optimal detector states and processes to perform such experiments. This would clarify both the role of a quantized c.m. for interactions with an external field, and the differing localizations between the first- and second-quantized treatments.