The Unruh-DeWitt particle detector is a valuable tool for probing the physics of quantum fields when curved spacetimes or noninertial observers are involved. However, due to subtleties involving the regularisation of the Wightman distribution, a precise definition of the transition rate of such a detector in a general setting has proven elusive. Here the question is addressed within two different frameworks: the first one (originally introduced by Schlicht) involving a spatial smearing function and the second one involving smooth switching functions for turning on and off the interaction. It is shown that the two approaches lead to a same universal regularised expression for general detector trajectories in Minkowski space, and that the second approach is also valid in more general spacetimes. General properties of the transition rate are discussed, and several particular applications are considered, among them a detector with increasing acceleration in the Minkowski vacuum, an inertial detector in the Rindler vacuum and a detector at rest in a Newtonian gravitational field.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:495541 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Satz, Alejandro |
| Publisher | University of Nottingham |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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