Dynamical Casimir Effect and the Black Body Spectrum

Abstract

Creation of scalar massless particles in two-dimensional Minkowski space-time--as predicted by the dynamical Casimir effect--is studied for the case of a semitransparent mirror initially at rest, then accelerating for some finite time, along a specified trajectory, and finally moving with constant velocity. When the reflection and transmission coefficients are those in the model proposed by Barton, Calogeracos, and Nicolaevici [$r(w)=-iα/(\w+iα)$ and $s(w)=\w/(\w+iα)$, with $α\geq 0$], the Bogoliubov coefficients on the back side of the mirror can be computed exactly. This allows us to prove that, when $α$ is very large (case of an ideal, perfectly reflecting mirror) a thermal emission of scalar massless particles obeying Bose-Einstein statistics is radiated from the mirror (a black body radiation), in accordance with previous results in the literature. However, when $α$ is finite (semitransparent mirror, a physically realistic situation) the striking result is obtained that the thermal emission of scalar massless particles obeys Fermi-Dirac statistics. Possible consequences of this result are envisaged.

9 pages, no figures; version to appear in JPA Fast Track Communications