Spacetime curvature induced corrections to Lamb shift

Details Spacetime curvature induced corrections to Lamb shift Spacetime curvature induced corrections to Lamb shift

2012-04-10

arxiv.org/abs/1204.2015v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

11 pages, 3 figures

Scientific paper

The Lamb shift results from the coupling of an atom with vacuum fluctuations of quantum fields, so corrections are expected to arise when the spacetime is curved since the vacuum fluctuations are modified by the presence of spacetime curvature. Here, we calculate the curvature-induced correction to the Lamb shift outside a spherically symmetric object and demonstrate that this correction can be remarkably significant outside a compact massive astrophysical body. For instance, for a neutron star or a stellar mass black hole, the correction is $\sim$ 25% at a radial distance of $4GM/c^2$, $\sim$ 16% at $10GM/c^2$ and as large as $\sim$ 1.6% even at $100GM/c^2$, where $M$ is the mass of the object, $G$ the Newtonian constant, and $c$ the speed of light. In principle, we can look at the spectra from a distant compact supper-massive body to find such corrections. Therefore, our results suggest a possible way of detecting fundamental quantum effects in astronomical observations.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Spacetime curvature induced corrections to Lamb shift does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Spacetime curvature induced corrections to Lamb shift, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Spacetime curvature induced corrections to Lamb shift will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-643848