Résumé |
According to quantum mechanics, an electromagnetic mode without real photon excitations is non-trivial. It
gives rise to vacuum electric field fluctuations. Despite averaging to zero over time, these fluctuations are
responsible for the spontaneous emission, the Lamb shift and the Casimir effect. Using Landau polaritons, we
demonstrate experimentally that the vacuum electric field acts on electron transport. The DC magneto-
resistance of the cavity-embedded 2D electron gas is changed due to the coupling to vacuum. Intriguingly,
our experimental platform allows to tune the vacuum mode in-situ, while observing the response in the
resistance. |