Motion-driven quantum dissipation in an open electronic system with nonlocal interaction

TL;DR

This study models excitations and dissipation in two moving metallic plates using Dirac fields and nonlocal interactions, revealing motion-induced energy transfer and dissipation effects with velocity thresholds.

Contribution

It introduces a quantum field theoretical framework for analyzing dissipation in moving conductors with nonlocal interactions, highlighting velocity-dependent effects.

Findings

Vacuum occupation number is isotropic at zero velocity and anisotropic at nonzero velocity.

Motion induces energy transfer leading to on-shell excitations similar to the Schwinger effect.

Dissipative forces and quantum action imaginary parts show threshold behavior as functions of velocity.

Abstract

In this paper, we study excitations and dissipation in two infinite parallel metallic plates undergoing relative motion. The degrees of freedom of the electrons in both plates are modeled using the 1+2 dimensional Dirac field, and a nonlocal potential is selected to describe the interaction between the two plates. The internal relative motion is introduced via a Galilean boost, with one plate assumed to slide relative to the other. We then calculate the effective action of the system and derive the vacuum occupation number in momentum space using a perturbative method. Numerical plots reveal that the vacuum occupation number, as a function of momentum, is isotropic for a motion speed $v = 0$ and anisotropic for nonzero $v$. The relative motion induces energy transfer between the plates, leading to on-shell excitations in a manner analogous to the dissipative process of the Schwinger effect. Consequently, we study the motion-induced dissipation effects and the dissipative forces through the quantum action. Numerical results demonstrate that both the imaginary part of the quantum action due to the motion boost and the dissipative force exhibit a threshold as functions of $v$, and both are positively correlated with $v$.