HIC for FAIR logo 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.