Noise and dissipation on a moving mirror induced by the dynamical Casimir emission

TL;DR

This paper investigates how a moving mirror's dynamics are affected by quantum field back-reaction, revealing colored noise and non-local dissipation due to the dynamical Casimir effect using a microscopic model and master equation approach.

Contribution

It introduces a microscopic model linking the mirror's dielectric response to quantum field back-reaction and derives a master equation showing noise and dissipation effects from first principles.

Findings

Mirror experiences colored noise and non-local dissipation.

Noise and dissipation are related by fluctuation-dissipation relations.

Dynamical Casimir emission causes particle pair production affecting mirror dynamics.

Abstract

We adopt an open quantum system approach to study the effects of the back-reaction from a quantum field onto the dynamics of a moving mirror. We describe the coupling between the mirror and the field by using a microscopic model from which the dielectric response of the mirror is obtained from first principles. Using second-order perturbation theory, we derive the master equation governing the mechanical motion of the mirror. Our analysis reveals that the mirror experiences coloured noise and non-local dissipation, which originate from the emission of particle pairs via the dynamical Casimir effect. We show that the noise and dissipation kernels, that enter in the definition of the time-dependent coefficients of the master equation, are related by fluctuation-dissipation relations.