Emission of pairs of Minkowski photons through the lens of the Unruh effect

Juan V. O. Pêgas; Robert Bingham; Gianluca Gregori; George E. A. Matsas

doi:10.1103/bj1n-5qc8

Emission of pairs of Minkowski photons through the lens of the Unruh effect

Juan V. O. Pêgas
, Robert Bingham
, Gianluca Gregori
, George E. A. Matsas

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

We discuss the emission of pairs of photons by charges with generic worldlines in the Minkowski vacuum from the viewpoint of inertial observers and interpret them from the perspective of Rindler observers. We show that the emission of pairs of Minkowski photons—commonly referred to as Unruh radiation—corresponds, in general, to three distinct processes according to Rindler observers: scattering, and emission and absorption of pairs of Rindler photons. In the special case of uniformly accelerated charges, the radiation observed in the inertial frame can be fully described by the scattering channel in the Rindler frame. Therefore, the emission of pairs of Minkowski photons can be seen as further evidence supporting the Unruh effect.

Original language	English
Article number	025014
Number of pages	13
Journal	Physical Review D
Volume	113
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1103/bj1n-5qc8
Publication status	Published - 26 Jan 2026

Funding

J.V.O.P. was fully supported by the Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) under grant 2024/18601-5. R.B. and G.G. were partially supported by EPSRC Grants No. EP/X010791/1 and No. EP/X01133X/1. G.G. is also a member of the Quantum Sensing for the Hidden Sector (QSHS) Collaboration, supported by STFC Grant No. ST/T006277/1. G.E.A.M. was partially supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development and FAPESP under Grants No. 301508/2022-4 and No. 2022/10561-9, respectively.

Keywords

photons
Unruh radiation

Access to Document

10.1103/bj1n-5qc8

Pegas-etal-2026-Emission-of-pairs-of-Minkowski-photons-through-the-lens-of-the-Unruh-effectAccepted author manuscript, 452 KBLicence: CC BY 4.0

Cite this

@article{dc715921cbdd4bf1bd3995d9e2530852,

title = "Emission of pairs of Minkowski photons through the lens of the Unruh effect",

abstract = "We discuss the emission of pairs of photons by charges with generic worldlines in the Minkowski vacuum from the viewpoint of inertial observers and interpret them from the perspective of Rindler observers. We show that the emission of pairs of Minkowski photons—commonly referred to as Unruh radiation—corresponds, in general, to three distinct processes according to Rindler observers: scattering, and emission and absorption of pairs of Rindler photons. In the special case of uniformly accelerated charges, the radiation observed in the inertial frame can be fully described by the scattering channel in the Rindler frame. Therefore, the emission of pairs of Minkowski photons can be seen as further evidence supporting the Unruh effect.",

keywords = "photons, Unruh radiation",

author = "P{\^e}gas, \{Juan V. O.\} and Robert Bingham and Gianluca Gregori and Matsas, \{George E. A.\}",

year = "2026",

month = jan,

day = "26",

doi = "10.1103/bj1n-5qc8",

language = "English",

volume = "113",

journal = "Physical Review D",

issn = "2470-0010",

publisher = "American Physical Society",

number = "2",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Emission of pairs of Minkowski photons through the lens of the Unruh effect

AU - Pêgas, Juan V. O.

AU - Bingham, Robert

AU - Gregori, Gianluca

AU - Matsas, George E. A.

PY - 2026/1/26

Y1 - 2026/1/26

N2 - We discuss the emission of pairs of photons by charges with generic worldlines in the Minkowski vacuum from the viewpoint of inertial observers and interpret them from the perspective of Rindler observers. We show that the emission of pairs of Minkowski photons—commonly referred to as Unruh radiation—corresponds, in general, to three distinct processes according to Rindler observers: scattering, and emission and absorption of pairs of Rindler photons. In the special case of uniformly accelerated charges, the radiation observed in the inertial frame can be fully described by the scattering channel in the Rindler frame. Therefore, the emission of pairs of Minkowski photons can be seen as further evidence supporting the Unruh effect.

AB - We discuss the emission of pairs of photons by charges with generic worldlines in the Minkowski vacuum from the viewpoint of inertial observers and interpret them from the perspective of Rindler observers. We show that the emission of pairs of Minkowski photons—commonly referred to as Unruh radiation—corresponds, in general, to three distinct processes according to Rindler observers: scattering, and emission and absorption of pairs of Rindler photons. In the special case of uniformly accelerated charges, the radiation observed in the inertial frame can be fully described by the scattering channel in the Rindler frame. Therefore, the emission of pairs of Minkowski photons can be seen as further evidence supporting the Unruh effect.

KW - photons

KW - Unruh radiation

UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.01477

U2 - 10.1103/bj1n-5qc8

DO - 10.1103/bj1n-5qc8

M3 - Article

SN - 2470-0010

VL - 113

JO - Physical Review D

JF - Physical Review D

IS - 2

M1 - 025014

ER -

Emission of pairs of Minkowski photons through the lens of the Unruh effect

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Probing the Quantum Vacuum with High Power Laser and 4th Generation Light Sources in the Search for New Physics

Cite this

Emission of pairs of Minkowski photons through the lens of the Unruh effect

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Projects

Probing the Quantum Vacuum with High Power Laser and 4th Generation Light Sources in the Search for New Physics

Cite this