Open quantum system approach to the Unruh-DeWitt detector in impulsive plane wave spacetimes

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2608.19692v1
• Date: Thu, 20 Aug 2026 06:34:12 GMT
• Title: Open quantum system approach to the Unruh-DeWitt detector in impulsive plane wave spacetimes
• Abstract summary: We employ the open quantum system framework with the influence functional formalism to non-perturbatively analyze the response of an Unruh-DeWitt detector.<n>Explicit calculations are performed for both a pure gravitational wave (vanishing Ricci tensor) and a null electromagnetic wave (vanishing Weyl tensor)
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: In this paper we employ the open quantum system framework with the influence functional formalism to non-perturbatively analyze the response of an Unruh-DeWitt detector modeled as a harmonic oscillator which interacts with a massless scalar field in impulsive plane wave spacetimes. Subtracting the Minkowski results, we obtain the expectation values for $\langle Q^2 \rangle$, $\langle P^2 \rangle$, and $\langle \{Q,P\} \rangle$, along with transition probabilities $P_{0\rightarrow 1}$ from ground state to the first excited state of the detector due to the influence of the wave. Explicit calculations are performed for both a pure gravitational wave (vanishing Ricci tensor) and a null electromagnetic wave (vanishing Weyl tensor). In both scenarios, the wave suppresses excitation transitions. Since our approach is non-perturbative, we are able to consider cases with both weak and strong coupling constants.

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