Eric G. Brown

Entanglement and discord: accelerated observations of local and global modes.

We investigate the amount of entanglement and quantum discord extractable from a two mode squeezed state as considered from the viewpoint of two observers, Alice (inertial) and Rob (accelerated). We find that using localized modes produces qualitatively different correlation properties for large accelerations than do Unruh modes. Specifically, the entanglement undergoes a sudden death as a function of acceleration and the discord asymptotes to zero in the limit of infinite acceleration. We conclude that the previous Unruh mode analyses do not determine the acceleration dependent entanglement and discord degradation of a given quantum state.

Detectors for probing relativistic quantum physics beyond perturbation theory

We develop a general formalism for a nonperturbative treatment of harmonic-oscillator particle detectors in relativistic quantum field theory using continuous-variable techniques. By means of this we forgo perturbation theory altogether and reduce the complete dynamics to a readily solvable set of first-order, linear differential equations. The formalism applies unchanged to a wide variety of physical setups, including arbitrary detector trajectories, any number of detectors, arbitrary time-dependent quadratic couplings, arbitrary Gaussian initial states, and a variety of background spacetimes. As a first set of concrete results, we prove nonperturbatively - and without invoking Bogoliubov transformations - that an accelerated detector in a cavity evolves to a state that is very nearly thermal with a temperature proportional to its acceleration, allowing us to discuss the universality of the Unruh effect. Additionally we quantitatively analyze the problems of considering single-mode approximations in cavity field theory and show the emergence of causal behavior when we include a sufficiently large number of field modes in the analysis. Finally, we analyze how the harmonic particle detector can harvest entanglement from the vacuum. We also study the effect of noise in time-dependent problems introduced by suddenly switching on the interaction versus ramping it up slowly (adiabatic activation).

Vanishing geometric discord in noninertial frames

We show that quantum field correlations in non-inertial frames are not as persistent as previously thought. We perform a simple calculation showing that the geometric discord, a measure of quantum correlations, does decay to zero in the infinite acceleration limit. This result is seen to be a natural and expected consequence of considering correlations in an infinite dimensional system, and it sheds doubt on the existence of useable quantum correlations in this regime. We contrast our results with previous research showing that the acceleration-induced degradation of quantum discord was not strong enough to extinguish discord in the large acceleration limit.

Instability of the noncommutative geometry inspired black hole

Abstract Noncommutative geometries have been proposed as an approach to quantum gravity and have led to the construction of noncommutative black holes, whose interior singularities are purportedly eliminated due to quantum effects. Here we find evidence that these black holes are in fact unstable, with infalling matter near the Cauchy (inner) horizon being subject to an infinite blueshift of the type that has been repeatedly demonstrated for the Reissner–Nordstrom black hole. This instability is present even when an ultraviolet cutoff (induced by anticipated noncommutative geometric effects) to a field propagating in that spacetime is included. We demonstrate this by following an analogous argument made for Reissner–Nordstrom black holes, and conclude that stability is dependent on the surface gravities κ − and κ + of the inner and outer horizons respectively. In general if κ − > κ + , as we show to be the case here, then the stability of the Cauchy horizon becomes highly questionable, contrary to recent claims.

Sustainable entanglement production from a quantum field

We propose a protocol by which entanglement can be extracted repeatedly from a quantum field. In analogy with prior work on entanglement harvesting, we call this protocol entanglement farming. It consists of successively sending pairs of unentangled particles through an optical cavity. Using non-perturbative Gaussian methods, we show that in certain generic circumstances this protocol drives the cavity field towards a non-thermal metastable state. This state of the cavity is such that successive pairs of unentangled particles sent through the cavity will reliably emerge significantly entangled. We calculate thermodynamic aspects of the harvesting process, such as energies and entropies, and also the long-term behavior beyond the few-mode approximation. Significant for possible experimental realizations is the fact that this entangling fixed point state of the cavity is reached largely independently of the initial state in which the cavity was prepared. Our results suggest that reliable entanglement farming on the basis of such a fixed point state should be possible also in various other experimental settings, namely with the to-be-entangled particles replaced by arbitrary qudits and with the cavity replaced by a suitable reservoir system.

Mass Inflation in the Loop Black Hole

In classical general relativity the Cauchy horizon within a two-horizon black hole is unstable via a phenomenon known as mass inflation, in which the mass parameter (and the spacetime curvature) of the black hole diverges at the Cauchy horizon. Here we study this effect for loop black holes -- quantum gravitationally corrected black holes from loop quantum gravity -- whose construction alleviates the

Universality and thermalization in the Unruh Effect

r=0

Smooth and sharp creation of a Dirichlet wall in 1+1 quantum field theory: how singular is the sharp creation limit?

singularity present in their classical counterparts. We use a simplified model of mass inflation, which makes use of the generalized DTR relation, to conclude that the Cauchy horizon of loop black holes indeed results in a curvature singularity similar to that found in classical black holes. The DTR relation is of particular utility in the loop black hole because it does not directly rely upon Einsteins field equations. We elucidate some of the interesting and counterintuitive properties of the loop black hole, and corroborate our results using an alternate model of mass inflation due to Ori.

Stability of self-dual black holes

We explore the effects of different boundary conditions and coupling schemes on the response of a particle detector undergoing uniform acceleration in optical cavities. We analyze the thermalization properties of the accelerated detector via nonperturbative calculations. We prove nonperturbatively that if the switching process is smooth enough, the detector thermalizes to the Unruh temperature regardless of the boundary conditions and the form of the coupling considered.

Thermal amplification of field-correlation harvesting

A bstractWe present and utilize a simple formalism for the smooth creation of boundary conditions within relativistic quantum field theory. We consider a massless scalar field in (1 + 1)-dimensional flat spacetime and imagine smoothly transitioning from there being no boundary condition to there being a two-sided Dirichlet mirror. The act of doing this, expectantly, generates a flux of real quanta that emanates from the mirror as it is being created. We show that the local stress-energy tensor of the flux is finite only if an infrared cutoff is introduced, no matter how slowly the mirror is created, in agreement with the perturbative results of Obadia and Parentani. In the limit of instaneous mirror creation the total energy injected into the field becomes ultraviolet divergent, but the response of an Unruh-DeWitt particle detector passing through the infinite burst of energy nevertheless remains finite. Implications for vacuum entanglement extraction and for black hole firewalls are discussed.