Quantum Brownian motion of a scalar particle in the presence of a partially reflecting boundary

TL;DR

This paper investigates how a dispersive medium affects the quantum fluctuations of a scalar field and the resulting motion of a charged particle, revealing oscillations and delay effects due to medium properties.

Contribution

It introduces a model of scalar field quantization with a dispersive medium, clarifying divergence origins and analyzing medium-induced effects on particle motion.

Findings

Oscillations in dispersion curves due to effective mass

Delayed effects of the medium compared to perfect mirror

Divergence-free velocity dispersions in the model

Abstract

The second quantization of a real massless scalar field in the presence of a material medium described by a Drude-like susceptibility is here examined in a 1+1 dimensional model. The modified vacuum fluctuations of this field imprint divergence-free velocity dispersions on a scalar-charged particle, thus elucidating that the origin of divergences that appear in previous treatments is the assumption of idealized boundary conditions. Among the findings there is an oscillation on the dispersion curves caused by the effective mass of the field modes inside the dispersive medium. Additionally, it is found that the effects of the medium on the particle are delayed when compared to the perfect mirror limit, a phenomenon attributed to the imperfect reflection of field modes on the mirror. Although the study focus on a scalar field, the findings are valuable for understanding models based on electromagnetic interaction.