Quantum Vacuum Amplification

Paul D. Nation(Korea University)

Owing to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, the vacuum of quantum mechanics is a
volatile sea of ephemeral virtual particles that are the origin of some of the most important
physical processes in the universe. One such process, is the amplification of quantum
vacuum fluctuations into observable photons. This mechanism lies at the heart of the Unruh
effect, Hawking radiation from a black hole, and the dynamical Casimir effect. Although
these mechanisms seem quite exotic, their underlying physics is so easy even a child can
understand. Here we will show that all quantum vacuum amplification mechanisms can be
traced back to the same physics used to amplify a playground swing; an effect known as
parametric amplification. We will introduce the Unruh effect, Hawking radiation, and the
dynamical Casimir effect, and highlight their connection to the quantum parametric amplifier.
In addition, we demonstrate how these effects, or their analogues, can be observed using
superconducting circuit devices. The unity underlying these mechanisms provides for
experimental realizations of otherwise unobservable effects, and gives insight into currently
unanswered theoretical questions such as the black hole information loss problem.