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arXiv · 0902.4318

The Weight of Vacuum Fluctuations

Eduard Masso
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Abstract

We examine the gravitational properties of Lamb shift energies. Using available experimental data we show that these energies have a standard gravitational behavior at the level of $\sim 10^{-5}$. We are motivated by the point of view that Lamb shift energies may be interpreted as a consequence of vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. If this is the case, our result is a test of the gravitational properties of quantum fluctuations. The result is of interest in relation to the problem of the zero-point energy contribution to the cosmological constant. Indeed, the problem presupposes that the zero-point energy gravitates as all other forms of energy, and this supposition is what we test.

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Eduard Masso. 2009-08-18. The Weight of Vacuum Fluctuations. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2009.08.007

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