Moving mirror model for quasithermal radiation fields

Abstract

We analyze the flow of energy and entropy emitted by a class of moving mirror trajectories which provide models for important aspects of the radiation fields produced by black hole evaporation. The mirror radiation fields provide natural, concrete examples of processes that follow thermal distributions for long periods, accompanied by transients which are brief and carry little net energy, yet ultimately represent pure quantum states. A burst of negative energy flux is a generic feature of these fields, but it need not be prominent.