Fluctuations of the Unruh Temperature

TL;DR

This paper investigates the fluctuations in the Unruh temperature experienced by an accelerating detector, considering quantum decoherence effects on the detector's classicality and their impact on perceived thermal excitation.

Contribution

It introduces a framework using the influence functional formalism to analyze temperature fluctuations due to decoherence in non-classical trajectories.

Findings

Fluctuations in Unruh temperature are linked to decoherence-induced classicality.

Temperature fluctuations depend on the detector's excitation amplitude and time.

The approach extends understanding of quantum effects in accelerated detectors.

Abstract

Using the influence functional formalism, the problem of an accelerating detector in the presence of a scalar field in its ground state is considered in Minkowski space. As is known since the work of Unruh, to a quantum mechanical detector following a definite, classical acceleration, the field appears to be thermally excited. We relax the requirement of perfect classicality for the trajectory and substitute it with one of {\it derived} classicality through the criteria of decoherence. The ensuing fluctuations in temperature are then related with the time and the amplitude of excitation in the detector's internal degree of freedom.