Detectability of Dissipative Motion in Quantum Vacuum via Superradiance

We propose an experiment for generating and detecting vacuum-induced dissipative motion. A high frequency mechanical resonator driven in resonance is expected to dissipate mechanical energy in quantum vacuum via photon emission. The photons are stored in a high quality electromagnetic cavity and detected through their interaction with ultracold alkali-metal atoms prepared in an inverted population of hyperfine states. Superradiant amplification of the generated photons results in a detectable radio-frequency signal temporally distinguishable from the expected background.

Figure 1

Generation and detection of photons irradiated through vacuum-induced damping of motion. The two-level atoms are optically pumped to the maximum angular momentum state of the spin-orbit manifold which only allows for a single, downward, circularly polarized, magnetic dipole transition. The atoms are then sent through the cavity (a). The Casimir photons are generated through mechanical modulation of one FBAR resonator (b). An amplified superradiant pulse is triggered by a weak Casimir signal and detected by radio-frequency electronics or atomic fluorescence (c).