Luigi Maxmilian Caligiuri

THE ORIGIN OF INERTIA AND MATTER AS A SUPERRADIANT PHASE TRANSITION OF QUANTUM VACUUM, 2015

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Mass is one of the most important concepts in physics and its real understanding represents the key for the formulation of any consistent physical theory. During the past years, a very interesting model of inertial and gravitational mass as the result of the reaction interaction between the charged particles (electrons and quarks) contained in a given body and a suitable “fraction” of QED Zero Point Fields confined within an ideal resonant cavity, associated to the same body, has been proposed by Haish, Rueda and Puthoff. More recently, the author showed that this interpretation is consistent with a picture of mass (both inertial and gravitational) as the seat of ZPF standing waves whose presence reduces quantum vacuum energy density inside the resonant cavity ideally associated to the body volume. Nevertheless so far, the ultimate physical origin of such resonant cavity as well as the mechanism able to “select” the fraction of ZPF electromagnetic modes interacting within it, remained unrevealed. In this paper, basing on the framework of QED coherence in condensed matter, we'll show mass can be viewed as the result of a spontaneous superradiant phase transition of quantum vacuum giving rise to a more stable, energetically favored, macroscopic quantum state characterized by an ensemble of coherence domains, “trapping” the coherent ZPF fluctuations inside a given volume just acting as a resonant cavity. Our model is then able to explain the “natural” emergence of the ideal resonant cavity speculated by Haish, Rueda and Puthoff and its defining parameters as well as the physical mechanism selecting the fraction of ZPF interacting with the body particles. Finally, a generalization of the model to explain the origin of mass of elementary particles is proposed also suggesting a new understanding of Compton's frequency and De Broglie's wavelength. Our results indicates both inertia and matter could truly originate from coherent interaction between quantum matter-wave and radiation fields condensed from quantum vacuum and also give novel and interesting insights into fundamental physical questions as, for example, the structure of elementary particles and matter stability.

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Hiroki Sunahata, Alfonso Rueda, Bernard Haisch

QUANTUM VACUUM AND INERTIAL REACTION FORCE IN NONRELATIVISTIC QED, 2013 (pdf)

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The possible connection between the electromagnetic zero-point field (ZPF) and the inertia reaction force was first pointed out by Haisch, Rueda, and Puthoff (Phys. Rev. A, 49, 678, 1994), and then by Rueda and Haisch following a totally different and more satisfactory approach (Found. Phys., 28, 1057, 1998; Phys. Letters A, 240, 115, 1998; Annalen der Physik, 10 (5), 393, 2001). In the present paper, the approach taken by Rueda and Haisch will be followed, but the analysis will be done within a formulation that uses nonrelativistic quantum electrodynamics with the creation and annihilation operators rather than the approach of Rueda and Haisch using stochastic electrodynamics. We analyze the interaction between the zero-point field and an object under hyperbolic motion (constant proper acceleration), and find that there arises a reaction force which is proportional in magnitude, and opposite in direction, to the acceleration. This is suggestive of what we know as inertia. We also point out that the equivalence principle ‑ that inertial mass and gravitational mass have the same values -- follows naturally using this approach. Inertial mass and gravitational mass are not merely equal, they are the identical thing viewed from two complementary perspectives (Annalen der Physik, 14 (8), 479, 2005). In the first case an object accelerating through the electromagnetic zero-point field experiences resistance from the field. In the case of an object held fixed in a gravitational field, the electromagnetic zero-point field propagates on curved geodesics, in effect accelerating with respect to the fixed object, thereby generating weight. Hence, the equivalence principle does not need to be independently postulated.

 

 

Alfonso Rueda, Hiroki Sunahata

INERTIA AND THE VACUUM-VIEW ON THE EMERGENCE OF THE INERTIA REACTION FORCE, 2007

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The work-in-progress on the conjectured origin of the inertia reaction force (Newton's Second Law) in quantum vacuum fields is discussed and reviewed. It is first pointed out that the inertia reaction force is not a fundamental effect at the particle level, but an emergent macroscopic phenomenon that appears in large condensed aggregates. A brief sketch of the analysis that leads to the derivation of the electromagnetic vacuum contribution to the inertia reaction force is presented, in several complementary ways and also in a fully covariant way. All derivations were initially done within Stochastic Electrodynamics and more recently, we briefly report here for the first time, they have been reformulated within ordinary Quantum Electrodynamics. Analysis leading to an expression for, what we can call, the vacuum electromagnetic field contribution to the inertia reaction force, is briefly reviewed. As an example, the case of an ordinary electromagnetic (microwave) cavity is briefly mentioned with its associated very small but nonnegligible inertial mass of the interior of the microwave cavity case (i.e., the cavity alone not considering its walls). Next, it is briefly mentioned that the results for inertial mass can be passed to passive gravitational mass. Thus some light is thrown on the origin of the Weak Equivalence Principle, which equates inertial mass to passive gravitational mass. Finally we mention the derivation of Newton's gravitational force expression that easily follows from this analysis. Unfortunately, all this has been accomplished just for the electromagnetic vacuum case, as contribution by the other quantum vacuum fields have not been calculated. This specially refers to the gluonic vacuum, which presumably contributes the lion's share of the inertia reaction force in ordinary objects. Furthermore, the origin of what constitutes active gravitational mass has still not been considered within this approach. I.e., why a massive object "bends" space-time still remains unexplained.

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Hiroki Sunahata

INTERACTION OF THE QUANTUM VACUUM WITH AN ACCELERATED OBJECT AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO INERTIA REACTION FORCE, 2006 (pdf)

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A possible relationship between the zero-point field of the quantum vacuum and the origin of inertia is investigated. The zero-point field (ZPF) is a random, homogeneous, and isotropic electromagnetic field that exists even at the temperature of absolute zero, and its energy density spectrum is Lorentz invariant. Following the approach by Rueda and Haisch (Found. of Phys. Vol. 28, 1057, (1998)), the vacuum expectation value of the ZPF Poynting vector corresponding to the field energy being swept through by the accelerated object per unit time per unit area is evaluated. Here the object is under uniform acceleration, or constant proper acceleration which is known as hyperbolic motion. From this Poynting vector, we can further evaluate the momentum of the background fields the object has swept through as seen from the laboratory frame, and this momentum can then be used to find the force exerted on an accelerated object by the ZPF. This approach had the advantage of avoiding the model dependence used previously by Haisch, Rueda, and Puthoff (Phys. Rev. A 49, 678, (1994)).

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Although, in their analysis, Rueda and Haisch used the classical stochastic electromagnetic zero-point field, in the present research, the quantum formulation for the ZPF is employed using the creation and annihilation operators in the Hilbert space. A relativistic result is reproduced as well by use of the electromagnetic energy-momentum stress tensor which has the Poynting vector components as some of its elements. Similar results are obtained in either approach, and the force on the accelerating object by the ZPF is found to be proportional and in the opposite direction to the acceleration. Furthermore the proportionality constant turns out to be a scalar quantity with the dimension of mass. Thus the interaction between the accelerated object and the quantum vacuum appears to generate a physical resistance against acceleration, which manifests itself in the form of inertial mass mi. It has been conjectured by Rueda and collaborators that not only the electromagnetic but other ZPFs such as those of the strong and weak interactions may contribute to the inertial mass.

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Bernard Haisch, Alfonso Rueda

GRAVITY AND THE QUANTUM VACUUM INERTIA HYPOTHESIS, 2005 (pdf)

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In previous work it has been shown that the electromagnetic quantum vacuum, or electromagnetic zero-point field, makes a contribution to the inertial reaction force on an accelerated object. We show that the result for inertial mass can be extended to passive gravitational mass. As a consequence the weak equivalence principle, which equates inertial to passive gravitational mass, appears to be explainable. This in turn leads to a straightforward derivation of the classical Newtonian gravitational force. We call the inertia and gravitation connection with the vacuum fields the quantum vacuum inertia hypothesis. To date only the electromagnetic field has been considered. It remains to extend the hypothesis to the effects of the vacuum fields of the other interactions. We propose an idealized experiment involving a cavity resonator which, in principle, would test the hypothesis for the simple case in which only electromagnetic interactions are involved. This test also suggests a basis for the free parameter η(ν) which we have previously defined to parametrize the interaction between charge and the electromagnetic zero-point field contributing to the inertial mass of a particle or object.

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L.J. Nickisch, Jules Mollere

CONNECTIVITY AND ORIGIN OF INERTIA, 2003 (pdf)

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In previous work it has been shown that the electromagnetic quantum vacuum, or electromagnetic zero-point field, makes a contribution to the inertial reaction force on an accelerated object. We show that the result for inertial mass can be extended to passive gravitational mass. As a consequence the weak equivalence principle, which equates inertial to passive gravitational mass, appears to be explainable. This in turn leads to a straightforward derivation of the classical Newtonian gravitational force. We call the inertia and gravitation connection with the vacuum fields the quantum vacuum inertia hypothesis. To date only the electromagnetic field has been considered. It remains to extend the hypothesis to the effects of the vacuum fields of the other interactions. We propose an idealized experiment involving a cavity resonator which, in principle, would test the hypothesis for the simple case in which only electromagnetic interactions are involved. This test also suggests a basis for the free parameter η(ν) which we have previously defined to parametrize the interaction between charge and the electromagnetic zero-point field contributing to the inertial mass of a particle or object.

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Giovanni Modanese

INERTIAL MASS AND VACUUM FLUCTUATIONS IN QUANTUM FIELD THEORY, 2003 (pdf)

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Motivated by recent works on the origin of inertial mass, we revisit the relationship between the mass of charged particles and zero-point electromagnetic fields. To this end we first introduce a simple model comprising a scalar field coupled to stochastic or thermal electromagnetic fields. Then we check if it is possible to start from a zero bare mass in the renormalization process and express the finite physical mass in terms of a cut-off. In scalar QED this is indeed possible, except for the problem that all conceivable cut-offs correspond to very large masses. For spin-1/2 particles (QED with fermions) the relation between bare mass and renormalized mass is compatible with the observed electron mass and with a finite cut-off, but only if the bare mass is not zero; for any value of the cut-off the radiative correction is very small.

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Bernard Haisch, Alfonso Rueda, York Dobyns

INERTIAL MASS AND THE QUANTUM VACUUM FIELDS, 2000 (pdf)

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Even when the Higgs particle is finally detected, it will continue to be a legitimate question to ask whether the inertia of matter as a reaction force opposing acceleration is an intrinsic or extrinsic property of matter. General relativity specifies which geodesic path a free particle will follow, but geometrodynamics has no mechanism for generating a reaction force for deviation from geodesic motion. We discuss a different approach involving the electromagnetic zero-point field (ZPF) of the quantum vacuum. It has been found that certain asymmetries arise in the ZPF as perceived from an accelerating reference frame. In such a frame the Poynting vector and momentum flux of the ZPF become non-zero. Scattering of this quantum radiation by the quarks and electrons in matter can result in an acceleration-dependent reaction force. Both the ordinary and the relativistic forms of Newton's second law, the equation of motion, can be derived from the electrodynamics of such ZPF-particle interactions. Conjectural arguments are given why this interaction should take place in a resonance at the Compton frequency, and how this could simultaneously provide a physical basis for the de Broglie wavelength of a moving particle. This affords a suggestive perspective on a deep connection between electrodynamics, the origin of inertia and the quantum wave nature of matter.

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Alfonso Rueda, Bernhard Haisch

INERTIA AS REACTION OF THE VACUUM TO ACCELERATED MOTION, 1998 (pdf)

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It was proposed by Haisch, Rueda and Puthoff that the inertia of matter could be interpreted at least in part as a reaction force originating in interactions between the electromagnetic zero-point field (ZPF) and the elementary charged constituents (quarks and electrons) of matter. Within the limited context of that analysis, it appeared that Newton's equation of motion, f=ma, could be inferred from Maxwell's equations as applied to the ZPF, i.e. the stochastic electrodynamics (SED) version of the quantum vacuum. We report on a new approach which avoids the ad hoc particle-field interaction model (Planck oscillator) of that analysis, as well as its concomitant formulational complexity. Instead, it is shown that a non-zero ZPF momentum flux arises naturally in accelerating coordinate frames from the standard relativistic transformations of electromagnetic fields. Scattering of this ZPF momentum flux by an object will yield a reaction force that may be interpreted as a contribution to the object's inertia. This new formulation is properly covariant yielding the relativistic equation of motion. Our approach is related by the principle of equivalence to Sakharov's conjecture of a connection between Einstein action and the vacuum. If correct, this concept would substitute for Mach's principle and imply that no further mass-giving Higgs-type fields may be required to explain the inertia of material objects, although extensions to include the zero-point fields of the other fundamental interactions may be necessary for a complete theory of inertia.

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Bernhard Haisch, Alfonso Rueda

CONRTIBUTION TO INERTIAL MASS BY REACTION OF THE VACUUM TO ACCELERATED MOTION,1998 (pdf)

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We present an approach to the origin of inertia involving the electromagnetic component of the quantum vacuum and propose this as an alternative to Mach's principle. Preliminary analysis of the momentum flux of the classical zero-point radiation impinging on accelerated objects as viewed by an inertial observer suggests that the resistance to acceleration attributed to inertia may be at least in part a force of opposition originating in the vacuum. This analysis avoids the ad hoc modeling of particle-field interaction dynamics used previously to derive a similar result. This present approach is not dependent upon what happens at the particle point, but on how an external observer assesses the kinematical characteristics of the zero-point radiation impinging on the accelerated object. A relativistic form of the equation of motion results from the present analysis. Its covariant form yields a simple result that may be interpreted as a contribution to inertial mass. Our approach is related by the principle of equivalence to Sakharov's conjecture of a connection between Einstein action and the vacuum. The argument presented may thus be construed as a descendant of Sakharov's conjecture by which we attempt to attribute a mass-giving property to the electromagnetic component and possibly other components of the vacuum. In this view the physical momentum of an object is related to the radiative momentum flux of the vacuum instantaneously contained in the characteristic proper volume of the object. The interaction process between the accelerated object and the vacuum (akin to absorption or scattering of electromagnetic radiation) appears to generate a physical resistance (reaction force) to acceleration suggestive of what has been historically known as inertia.

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Bernhard Haisch, Alfonso Rueda

THE ZERO-POINT FIELD AND ENERTIA, 1998

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The oversimplification of an idealized oscillator interacting with the ZPF as well as the mathematical complexity of the HRP analysis are understandable sources of skepticism, as is the limitation to Newtonian mechanics. A relativistic form of the equation of motion having standard covariant properties has been obtained (Rueda & Haisch 1997), which is independent of any particle model, relying solely on the standard Lorentz-transformation properties of the electromagnetic fields.

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Assume that there are interactions between a real ZPF, represented as above, and matter at the fundamental particle level, treated as a collection of electrons and quarks, both of which are simply thought of as oscillating point charges: partons in the terminology of Feynmann. If the ZPF-parton interactions take place at high frequencies, then one need not worry about how the three quarks in a proton or a neutron are bound together. Each will interact independently with the ZPF, even though the three-quark ensemble is constrained to macroscopically move together.

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Bernhard Haisch, Alfonso Rueda

THE ZERO-POINT FIELD AND THE NASA CALLENGE TO CREATE THE SPACE DRIVE, 1997

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This NASA Breakthrough Propulsion PhysicsWorkshop seeks to explore concepts that could someday enable interstellar travel. The effective superluminal motion proposed by Alcubierre (1994) to be a possibility owing to theoretically allowed space-time metric distortions within general relativity has since been shown by Pfenning and Ford (1997) to be physically unattainable. A number of other hypothetical possibilities have been summarized by Millis (1997). We present herein an overview of a concept that has implications.

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for radically new propulsion possibilities and has a basis in theoretical physics: the hypothesis that the inertia and gravitation of matter originate in electromagnetic interactions between the zero-point field (ZPF) and the quarks and electrons constituting atoms. A new derivation of the connection between the ZPF and inertia has been carried through that is properly co-variant, yielding the relativistic equation of motion from Maxwell's equations. This opens new possibilities, but also rules out the basis of one hypothetical propulsion mechanism: Bondi's "negative inertial mass", appears to be an impossibility.

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B.Haisch, A.Rueda, H.E.Puthoff

PHYSICS OF  THE ZERO-POINT FIELD: IMPLICATIONS FOR INERTIA, GRAVITATION AND MASS, 1997 (pdf)

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Previous studies of the physics of a classical electromagnetic zero-point field (ZPF) have implicated it as a possible basis for a number of quantum phenomena. Recent work implies that the ZPF may play an even more significant role as the source of inertia and gravitation of matter. Furthermore, this close link between electromagnetism and inertia suggests that it may be fruitful to investigate to what extent the fundamental physical process of electromagnetic radiation by accelerated charged particles could be interpreted as scattering of ambient ZPF radiation. This could also bear upon the origin of radiation reaction and on the existence of the same Planck function underlying both thermal emission and the acceleration-dependent Davies-Unruh effect.

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If these findings are substantiated by further investigations, a paradigm shift would be necessitated in physics. An overview of these concepts is presented thereby outlining a research agenda which could ultimately lead to revolutionary technologies.

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Puthoff H.E.

REPLY TO «COMMENT ON GRAVITY AS A ZERO-POINT «FLUCTUATION»», 1993 (pdf)

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Although mathematically self-consistent, Carlip’s approach to the reanalysis of Sakharov gravity is flawed by the neglect of important physical constraints associated with the interaction, and leads to an incorrect 1/R4 spatial dependence for the force. When appropriate physical cutoffs are incorporated into the modeling, however, inverse-square-law Newtonian gravity emerges as originally derived.

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P.S. Wesson

ZERO’POINT FIELDS, GRAVITATION AND NEW PHYSICS, 1992 (pdf)

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Research over the last decade has shown that problems exist about how to reconcile the zero-point fields (ZPF) that follow from quantum mechanics with the energy conditions built into classical gravitational theories such as general relativity. Here, these problems are identified and possible resolutions are suggested. The inference from the material presented here is that research into zero-point physics is justified and should continue to be supported.

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Puthoff H.E.

GRAVITY AS A ZERO-POINT «FLUCTUATION FORSE», 1989 (pdf)

 

Sakharov has proposed a suggestive model in which gravity is not a separately existing fundamental force, but rather an induced effect associated with zero-point fluctuations (ZPF's) of the vacuum, in much the same manner as the van der Waals and Casimir forces. In the spirit of this proposal we develop a point-particle--ZPF interaction model that accords with and fulfills this hypothesis. In the model gravitational mass and its associated gravitational effects are shown to derive in a fully self-consistent way from electromagnetic-ZPF-induced particle motion ("Zitterbewegung"). Because of its electromagnetic-ZPF underpinning, gravitational theory in this form constitutes an ''already unified'' theory.

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