Eduardo Martin-Martinez, Miguel Montero, Marco del Rey. Wavepacket detection with the Unruh-dewitt model
Natural Sciences / Physics / Quantum field theory
Submitted on: Aug 23, 2012, 20:04:30
Description: In this paper we deal with several issues in the localisation of the Unruh-Dewitt detector model. In its original formulation as a pointlike detector, the Unruh-DeWitt model has been used to study extensively the physics of quantum fields in presence of accelerations or curved backgrounds. Natural extensions of the model have tried to take into account the spatial profile of such detectors but all of them have met a series of problems in their spectral response which render them useless to study some of the most interesting physical scenarios. This paper analyses the spectral response of spatially smeared Unruh-DeWitt detectors, discusses the kind of spatial profiles which are useful for the study of relevant scenarios and study in which cases the Unruh-DeWitt model can be effectively used to describe atoms interacting with the EM field.