Unruh-DeWitt detector response across a Rindler firewall is finite

Louko, Jorma

Abstract

We investigate a two-level Unruh-DeWitt detector coupled to a massless scalar field or its proper time derivative in (1 + 1)-dimensional Minkowski spacetime, in a quantum state whose correlation structure across the Rindler horizon mimics the stationary aspects of a firewall that Almheiri et al. have argued to ensue in an evaporating black hole spacetime. Within first-order perturbation theory, we show that the detector’s response on falling through the horizon is sudden but finite. The difference from the Minkowski vacuum response is proportional to ω−2 ln(|ω|) for the non-derivative detector and to ln(|ω|) for the derivative-coupling detector, both in the limit of a large energy gap ω and in the limit of adiabatic switching. Adding to the quantum state high Rindler temperature excitations behind the horizon increases the detector’s response proportionally to the temperature; this situation has been suggested to model the energetic curtain proposal of Braunstein et al. We speculate that the (1 + 1)-dimensional derivative-coupling detector may be a good model for a non-derivative detector that crosses a firewall in 3 + 1 dimensions.

Citation

Louko, J. (2014). Unruh-DeWitt detector response across a Rindler firewall is finite. Journal of High Energy Physics, 2014(9), https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP09%282014%29142

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 29, 2014
• Publication Date: Sep 24, 2014
• Deposit Date: Oct 10, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 10, 2017
• Journal: Journal of High Energy Physics
• Electronic ISSN: 1029-8479
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 2014
• Issue: 9
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP09%282014%29142
• Keywords: Models of Quantum Gravity, Black Holes, Field Theories in Lower Dimensions
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/735411
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FJHEP09%282014%29142