Abstract:We analyze radiative processes of a quantum system composed by two identical two-level atoms interacting with a massless scalar field prepared in the vacuum state in the presence of perfect reflecting flat mirrors. We consider that the atoms are prepared in a stationary maximally entangled state. We investigate the spontaneous transitions rates from the entangled states to the collective ground state induced by vacuum fluctuations. In the empty-space case, the spontaneous decay rates can be enhanced or inhibited depending on the specific entangled state and changes with the distance between the atoms. Next, we consider the presence of perfect mirrors and impose Dirichlet boundary conditions on such surfaces. In the presence of a single mirror the transition rate for the symmetric state undergoes a slight reduction, whereas for the antisymmetric state our results indicate a slightly enhancement. Finally, we investigate the effect of multiple reflections by two perfect mirrors on the transition rates.

We consider an Unruh-DeWitt detector interacting with a massless Dirac field. Assuming that the detector is moving along an hyperbolic trajectory, we modeled the effects of fluctuations in the event horizon using a Dirac equation with random coefficients. First, we develop the perturbation theory for the fermionic field in a random media. Further we evaluate corrections due to the randomness in the response function associated to different model detectors.

We postulate the existence of a self-adjoint operator associated to a system with countably infinite number of degrees of freedom whose spectrum is the sequence of the nontrivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function. We assume that it describes a massive scalar field coupled to a background field in a (d + 1)-dimensional flat space-time. The scalar field is confined to the interval [0, a] in one dimension and is not restricted in the other dimensions. The renormalized zero-point energy of this system is presented using techniques of dimensional and analytic regularization. In even dimensional spacetime, the series that defines the regularized vacuum energy is finite. For the odd-dimensional case, to obtain a finite vacuum energy per unit area we are forced to introduce mass counterterms. A Riemann mass appears, which is the correction to the mass of the field generated by the nontrivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function.

The partition function of a bosonic Riemann gas is given by the Riemann zeta function. We assume that the hamiltonian of this gas at a given temperature β −1 has a random variable ω with a given probability distribution over an ensemble of hamiltonians. We study the average free energy density and average mean energy density of this arithmetic gas in the complex β-plane. Assuming that the ensemble is made by an enumerable infinite set of copies, there is a critical temperature where the average free energy density diverges due to the pole of the Riemann zeta function. Considering an ensemble of non-enumerable set of copies, the average free energy density is non-singular for all temperatures, but acquires complex values in the critical region.Next, we study the mean energy density of the system which depends strongly on the distribution of the non-trivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function. Using a regularization procedure we prove that the this quantity is continuous and bounded for finite temperatures.

We study the effects of light-cone fluctuations on the renormalized zero-point energy associated with a free massless scalar field in the presence of boundaries. In order to simulate light-cone fluctuations we introduce a space-time dependent random coefficient in the KleinGordon operator. We assume that the field is defined in a domain with one confined direction. For simplicity, we choose the symmetric case of two parallel plates separated by a distance a. The correction to the renormalized vacuum energy density between the plates goes as 1/a 8 instead of the usual 1/a 4 dependence for the free case. In turn we also show that light-cone fluctuations break down the vacuum pressure homogeneity between the plates.