Electromagnetic Vacuum Fluctuations and Electron Coherence II: Effects of Wavepacket Size

L. H. Ford

Published 1997-04-17Version 1

If one analyzes the effects of electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations upon an electron interference pattern in an approximation in which the electrons follow classical trajectories, an ultraviolet divergence results. It is shown that this divergence is an artifact of the classical trajectory approximation, and is absent when the finite sizes of electron wavepackets are accounted for. It is shown that the vacuum fluctuation effect has a logarithmic dependence upon the wavepacket size. However, at least in one model geometry, this dependence cancels when one includes both vacuum fluctuation and photon emission effects.