Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In quantum field theory, the quantum vacuum state (also called the quantum vacuum or vacuum state) is the quantum state with the lowest possible energy. Generally, it contains no physical particles. The term zero-point field is sometimes used as a synonym for the vacuum state of a quantized field which is completely individual. [clarification ...
In cosmology, the vacuum energy is one possible explanation for the cosmological constant [18] and the source of dark energy. [19] [20] Scientists are not in agreement about how much energy is contained in the vacuum. Quantum mechanics requires the energy to be large as Paul Dirac claimed it is, like a sea of energy.
Using the upper limit of the cosmological constant, the vacuum energy of free space has been estimated to be 10 −9 joules (10 −2 ergs), or ~5 GeV per cubic meter. [3] However, in quantum electrodynamics , consistency with the principle of Lorentz covariance and with the magnitude of the Planck constant suggests a much larger value of 10 113 ...
Depending on the Planck energy cutoff and other factors, the quantum vacuum energy contribution to the effective cosmological constant is calculated to be between 50 and as many as 120 orders of magnitude greater than has actually been observed, [1] [2] a state of affairs described by physicists as "the largest discrepancy between theory and ...
The QED vacuum is subject to fluctuations about a dormant zero average-field condition; [4] Here is a description of the quantum vacuum: The quantum theory asserts that a vacuum, even the most perfect vacuum devoid of any matter, is not really empty. Rather the quantum vacuum can be depicted as a sea of continuously appearing and disappearing ...
3D visualization of quantum fluctuations of the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) vacuum [1]. In quantum physics, a quantum fluctuation (also known as a vacuum state fluctuation or vacuum fluctuation) is the temporary random change in the amount of energy in a point in space, [2] as prescribed by Werner Heisenberg's uncertainty principle.
The discrepancy between theorized vacuum energy from quantum field theory and observed vacuum energy from cosmology is a source of major contention, with the values predicted exceeding observation by some 120 orders of magnitude, a discrepancy that has been called "the worst theoretical prediction in the history of physics!".
The ground state of a quantum-mechanical system is its stationary state of lowest energy; the energy of the ground state is known as the zero-point energy of the system. An excited state is any state with energy greater than the ground state. In quantum field theory, the ground state is usually called the vacuum state or the vacuum. If more ...