![]() However, they have been unsuccessful so far, as the effects have been too small to be seen with terrestrial magnetic fields, even with gamma rays at the GeV scale. such as with a direct laser pulse setup as shown here. There have been many attempts to measure the effect of vacuum birefringence in a laboratory setting. If the magnetic field is strong enough, this should lead to an observably large polarization, by an amount that's dependent on the strength of the magnetic field. Particles with the same velocities but opposite charges will bend in opposite directions in the presence of a magnetic field, and light that passes through a region of space with charged particles that move in this particular fashion should exhibit an effect: it should get polarized. In empty space with no external fields, this is true: Heisenberg's energy-time uncertainty principle applies, and so long as all the relevant conservation laws are still obeyed, this is all that happens.īut when you apply a strong magnetic field, particles and antiparticles have opposite charges from one another. When you have particle/antiparticle pairs present in empty space, you might think they simply pop into existence, live for a little while, and then re-annihilate and go back into nothingness. As particle-antiparticle pairs pop in-and-out of existence, they can interact with real particles like electrons or photons, leaving signatures imprinted on the real particles that are potentially observable. (Specifically, for the strong interactions.) Even in empty space, this vacuum energy is non-zero. Visualization of a quantum field theory calculation showing virtual particles in the quantum vacuum.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |