Work

Observable Zitterbewegung in curved spacetimes

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: Zitterbewegung, as it was originally described by Schrödinger, is an unphysical, non-observable effect. We verify whether the effect can be observed in non-inertial reference frames/curved spacetimes, where the ambiguity in defining particle states results in a mixing of positive and negative frequency modes. We explicitly demonstrate that such a mixing is in fact necessary to obtain the correct classical value for a particle's velocity in a uniformly accelerated reference frame, whereas in cosmological spacetime a particle does indeed exhibit Zitterbewegung.

Source: Physics Letters B

DOI: 10.1016/j.physletb.2016.03.049

Authors: Archil Kobakhidze, Adrian Manning, Anca Tureanu

Institutions: The University of Sydney, ARC Centre of Excellence for Particle Physics at the Terascale, University of Helsinki

Language: German

Topic: Relativity and Gravitational Theory

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: National Science Foundation, Academy of Finland, Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation, Australian Research Council

Awards: G139535274, G2931443448, G6018140013, G8830785587, G956963377