Time-energy uncertainty relation from subcycle mode vacuum fluctuations of a quantum field

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2603.27468v1
• Date: Sun, 29 Mar 2026 01:21:34 GMT
• Title: Time-energy uncertainty relation from subcycle mode vacuum fluctuations of a quantum field
• Abstract summary: We show that a time-energy uncertainty relation is satisfied in the deep subcycle regime.<n>Our results provide concrete meaning to the textbook picture of virtual particles in quantum field theory.
• Score: 0.34376560669160394
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: The time-energy uncertainty relation is often invoked as a heuristic explanation for virtual particles in interacting quantum field theories. However, this interpretation breaks down upon closer scrutiny for several reasons. Although concrete derivations and interpretations of time-energy uncertainty bounds in quantum mechanics have been established, most famously by Mandelstam and Tamm in 1945, there is no known rigorous connection between these bounds and the concept of virtual particles in quantum field theory. In this work, we use a model in which virtual excitations associated with subcycle modes of a free scalar field can be converted with unit efficiency into real excitations of an idealized rapidly-switched harmonic-oscillator Unruh-DeWitt detector coupled to the conjugate field. Defining the time uncertainty as the effective duration of the detector-field interaction, we show that a time-energy uncertainty relation is satisfied in the deep subcycle regime. Our results provide concrete operational meaning to the textbook heuristic picture of virtual particles in quantum field theory in terms of the time-energy uncertainty principle.

Related papers

• Imaging the vacuum fluctuations of a quantum field [42.533595413559105]
  We directly observe spatial vacuum fluctuations of a bosonic quantum field.<n>Our experiments are based on a homogeneous planar atomic Bose-Einstein condensate.<n>Images of the field reveal simultaneous fluctuations on different length scales, with scale-dependent amplitudes consistent with theoretical predictions for a vacuum state.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2026-08-20T17:49:29Z)
• Quantum optomechanics of lossy bodies: general approach and structured squeezed vacuum effects [51.56484100374058]
  We investigate the overall optomechanical force experienced by a macroscopic lossy object in free space under external quantum illumination.<n>By driving the scattering field with an anisotropic, multimode squeezed vacuum state, the spatial profile of the electromagnetic quantum fluctuations can be engineered to exhibit broken rotational symmetry.<n>We establish a general formalism for macroscopic quantum optomechanics that operates beyond the constraints of thermal equilibrium.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2026-04-07T13:25:43Z)
• Hybrid quantum-classical simulations of semiclassical gravity [39.146761527401424]
  We propose a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm for the simulation of real-time dynamics in interacting quantum field theories coupled to classical fields.<n>By discretizing space and time, we construct an iterative protocol that simulates the Trotterized dynamics of the quantum fields subject to the classical fields.<n>Our work paves the way for future experiments exploring other non-tractable regimes, including non-perturbative interactions of the quantum fields.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2026-03-06T17:48:21Z)
• Quantum field theory measurements for relativistic particles [0.0]
  Non-relativistic measurement models fail to incorporate the essential relativistic principles of locality, causality, and Lorentz covariance.<n>We employ the Quantum Temporal Probabilities (QTP) framework for relativistic measurements to describe electromagnetic, Dirac, and internally structured scalar fields.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2026-02-15T15:02:23Z)
• Relativistic Quantum Fields Are Universal Entanglement Embezzlers [41.94295877935867]
  Embezzlement of entanglement refers to the counterintuitive possibility of extracting entangled quantum states from a reference state of an auxiliary system.<n>We uncover a deep connection between the operational task of embezzling entanglement and the mathematical classification of von Neumann algebras.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-01-14T13:58:32Z)
• Real-time dynamics of false vacuum decay [49.1574468325115]
  We investigate false vacuum decay of a relativistic scalar field in the metastable minimum of an asymmetric double-well potential. We employ the non-perturbative framework of the two-particle irreducible (2PI) quantum effective action at next-to-leading order in a large-N expansion.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-10-06T12:44:48Z)
• Exact universal bounds on quantum dynamics and fast scrambling [0.0]
  We show that the spectral form factor sets a universal state-independent bound on the quantum dynamics of a complete set of initial states over arbitrarily long times. We use this result to constrain the scrambling of information in interacting many-body systems.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-12-28T18:47:20Z)
• Hidden Parameters in Heisenberg's and Landau-Peierls Uncertainty Relations, Speed of Virtual Particles and Space-Time Metric Types [0.0]
  In quantum field theory, virtual particles are carriers of relativistic wave fields, participate in vacuum fluctuations, and are a consequence of the implementation of the quantum uncertainty mechanism. We prove that the well-known Heisenberg uncertainty relations and Landau-Peierls uncertainty relations implicitly contain new "hidden" angular variables. We propose a method for revealing the type of space-time geometry in the interaction region of high-energy particles.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-03-17T04:20:23Z)
• Time Parametrizations in Long-Range Interacting Bose-Einstein Condensates [0.0]
  Time-parametrization invariance in general relativistic space-time does not allow us to single out a time in quantum mechanics in a mechanical way of measurement. We find that it is a theoretical counterexample of this gauge invariance, except for proper-time translational invariance, at a coarse-grained level.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-02-23T10:12:59Z)
• Equivalence of approaches to relational quantum dynamics in relativistic settings [68.8204255655161]
  We show that the trinity' of relational quantum dynamics holds in relativistic settings per frequency superselection sector. We ascribe the time according to the clock subsystem to a POVM which is covariant with respect to its (quadratic) Hamiltonian.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2020-07-01T16:12:24Z)

This list is automatically generated from the titles and abstracts of the papers in this site.

This site does not guarantee the quality of this site (including all information) and is not responsible for any consequences.