2026-09-19T04:58:57Zhttps://dspace.mit.edu/server/oai/request

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/838262022-01-13T07:54:07Zcom_1721.1_7582com_1721.1_7581col_1721.1_131022

Robert L. Jaffe and Mehran Kardar. Faghfoor M., Mohammad (Faghfoor Maghrebi) Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics 2014-01-09T19:59:17Z 2014-01-09T19:59:17Z 2013 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/83826 865576906 Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2013. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 128-134). In this thesis, we investigate the implications of fluctuations in systems away, possibly even far, from equilibrium due to their motion either in or out of thermal equilibrium. This subject encompasses several topics in physics including the dynamical Casimir effect in the presence of moving boundaries, and non-contact friction between objects in relative motion. In both cases, photons are created due to the coupling of the motion and zero-point fluctuations in the vacuum, resulting in dissipation and radiative loss. We introduce a general formalism, equally applicable to lossy and ideal objects, to compute the quantum radiation and dissipation effects solely in terms of the classical scattering matrices. We obtain trace formulas which are general and independent of any approximation scheme where numerous examples, many novel, are discussed in great detail. Specifically, we give an exact treatment of quantum fluctuations in the context of a neutral rotating object, and show that it spontaneously emits photons and drags objects nearby, and compute the associated photon statistics and entropy generation. In the context of non-contact friction, we find a quantum analog of the classical Cherenkov effect for two neutral plates in relative motion, purely due to quantum fluctuations. We present a number of arguments and exact proofs, including a method introduced in the context of quantum field theory in curved space, as well as the scattering approach, to show that a friction force between two plates appears at a threshold velocity set by the speed of light in their medium. by Mohammad F. Maghrebi. Ph.D. 134 pages eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 Physics. Fluctuation-induced phenomena in non-equilibrium systems Thesis application/pdf false Publication unknown unknown <Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="96ccb286-fec0-45e0-9878-49ad277b3b50"> <Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type> <Language>eng</Language> <Title>Fluctuation-induced phenomena in non-equilibrium systems</Title> <PublishedIn> <Publication> </Publication> </PublishedIn> <PublicationDate>2013</PublicationDate> <Authors> <Author> <DisplayName>Faghfoor M., Mohammad (Faghfoor Maghrebi)</DisplayName> <Affiliation> <OrgUnit> </OrgUnit> </Affiliation> </Author> </Authors> <Editors> </Editors> <Publishers> <Publisher> <DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName> <OrgUnit /> </Publisher> </Publishers> <License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License> <Keyword>Physics.</Keyword> <Abstract>In this thesis, we investigate the implications of fluctuations in systems away, possibly even far, from equilibrium due to their motion either in or out of thermal equilibrium. This subject encompasses several topics in physics including the dynamical Casimir effect in the presence of moving boundaries, and non-contact friction between objects in relative motion. In both cases, photons are created due to the coupling of the motion and zero-point fluctuations in the vacuum, resulting in dissipation and radiative loss. We introduce a general formalism, equally applicable to lossy and ideal objects, to compute the quantum radiation and dissipation effects solely in terms of the classical scattering matrices. We obtain trace formulas which are general and independent of any approximation scheme where numerous examples, many novel, are discussed in great detail. Specifically, we give an exact treatment of quantum fluctuations in the context of a neutral rotating object, and show that it spontaneously emits photons and drags objects nearby, and compute the associated photon statistics and entropy generation. In the context of non-contact friction, we find a quantum analog of the classical Cherenkov effect for two neutral plates in relative motion, purely due to quantum fluctuations. We present a number of arguments and exact proofs, including a method introduced in the context of quantum field theory in curved space, as well as the scattering approach, to show that a friction force between two plates appears at a threshold velocity set by the speed of light in their medium.</Abstract> <Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right" > </Access> </Publication>