Quantum vacuum state

This article is about the quantum vacuum. For other uses, see Quantum vacuum (disambiguation). For the classical notion of a vacuum, see Vacuum. For the related zero-point concept, see Zero-point energy.
Energy levels for an electron in an atom: ground state and excited states. In quantum field theory, the ground state is usually called the vacuum state or the vacuum.
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In quantum field theory, the quantum vacuum state (also called the quantum vacuum or vacuum state) is the quantum state with the lowest possible energy. Generally, it contains no physical particles. The term zero-point field is sometimes used as a synonym for the vacuum state of a quantized field which is completely individual.[clarification needed]

According to present-day[when?] understanding of what is called the vacuum state or the quantum vacuum, it is "by no means a simple empty space".[1][2] According to quantum mechanics, the vacuum state is not truly empty but instead contains fleeting electromagnetic waves and particles that pop into and out of the quantum field.[3][4][5]

The QED vacuum of quantum electrodynamics (or QED) was the first vacuum of quantum field theory to be developed. QED originated in the 1930s, and in the late 1940s and early 1950s, it was reformulated by Feynman, Tomonaga, and Schwinger, who jointly received the Nobel prize for this work in 1965.[6] Today, the electromagnetic interactions and the weak interactions are unified (at very high energies only) in the theory of the electroweak interaction.

The Standard Model is a generalization of the QED work to include all the known elementary particles and their interactions (except gravity). Quantum chromodynamics (or QCD) is the portion of the Standard Model that deals with strong interactions, and QCD vacuum is the vacuum of quantum chromodynamics. It is the object of study in the Large Hadron Collider and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, and is related to the so-called vacuum structure of strong interactions.[7]

  1. ^ Lambrecht, Astrid (2002). Figger, Hartmut; Meschede, Dieter; Zimmermann, Claus (eds.). Observing mechanical dissipation in the quantum vacuum: an experimental challenge; in Laser physics at the limits. Berlin, Germany/New York, New York: Springer. p. 197. ISBN 978-3-540-42418-5.
  2. ^ Ray, Christopher (1991). Time, space and philosophy. London/New York: Routledge. Chapter 10, p. 205. ISBN 978-0-415-03221-6.
  3. ^ "AIP Physics News Update,1996". Archived from the original on 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  4. ^ Physical Review Focus Dec. 1998.
  5. ^ Dittrich, Walter & Gies, H. (2000). Probing the quantum vacuum: perturbative effective action approach. Berlin: Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-67428-3.
  6. ^ For a historical discussion, see for example Ari Ben-Menaḥem, ed. (2009). "Quantum electrodynamics (QED)". Historical Encyclopedia of Natural and Mathematical Sciences. Vol. 1 (5th ed.). Springer. pp. 4892 ff. ISBN 978-3-540-68831-0. For the Nobel prize details and the Nobel lectures by these authors, see "The Nobel Prize in Physics 1965". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  7. ^ Letessier, Jean; Rafelski, Johann (2002). Hadrons and Quark-Gluon Plasma. Cambridge University Press. p. 37 ff. ISBN 978-0-521-38536-7.