Kernphysikalisches Kolloquium
Location: ITP, Science Campus Riedberg, Max-von-Laue-Str. 1, room 02.116
Time: Thursday, October 25, 2012, 16:30-17:30 (plus 10min for discussion)
Contact: hees@fias.uni-frankfurt.de
Possible tests of the Unruh effect
Douglas Singleton (CSU Fresno)
The Unruh effect is the thermal radiation detected by an observer
accelerating through flat, Minkowski space-time. Because of the
equivalence principle this effect is closely related to the Hawking
radiation that occurs in a gravitational background such as a black
hole. A brief overview of the Unruh effect is given covering its basic
characteristics and a brief, physical sketch of how one can derive the
Unruh effect. We then go over some claims that the Unruh effect has
already been detected via its effect on electrons in storage rings. We
end with some speculative suggestions for detecting the Unruh effect in
atomic and nuclear systems.