Traces of Quantum Friction in the Accumulated Geometric Phase

FERNANDO C. LOMBARDO; RICARDO S. DECCA; LUDMILA VIOTTI,; PAULA I. VILLAR

Santa Barbara

Conferencia; Conference: Quantum and Thermal Electrodynamic Fluctuations in the Presence of Matter: Progress and Challenges; 2022

KITP UCSB

Spatially separated bodies in relative motion through vacuum experience a tiny friction forceknown as quantum friction. This force has so far eluded experimental detection due to its smallmagnitude and short range. Quantitative details revealing traces of the quantum friction in thedegradation of the quantum coherence of a particle are presented. Environmentally induced decoherence for a particle sliding over a dielectric sheet can be decomposed into contributions ofdifferent signatures: one solely induced by the electromagnetic vacuum in presence of the dielectricand another induced by motion. As the geometric phase has been proved to be a fruitful venue ofinvestigation to infer features of the quantum systems, herein we propose to use the accumulatedgeometric phase acquired by a particle as a quantum friction sensor. Furthermore, an innovativeexperiment designed to track traces of quantum friction by measuring the velocity dependence ofcorrections to the geometric phase and coherence is proposed. The experimentally viable schemepresented can spark renewed optimism for the detection of non-contact friction, with the hope thatthis non-equilibrium phenomenon can be readily measured soon