Zero-point fluctuations are a universal consequence of quantum theory. Vacuum fluctuations of electromagnetic field have provided crucial evidence and guidance for QED as a successful quantum field theory with a defining gauge symmetry through the Lamb shift, Casimir effect, and spontaneous emission. In an accelerated frame, the thermalisation of the zero-point electromagnetic field gives rise to the Unruh effect linked to the Hawking effect of a black hole via the equivalence principle. This principle is the basis of general covariance, the symmetry of general relativity as the classical theory of gravity. If quantum gravity exists, the quantum vacuum fluctuations of the gravitational field should also lead to the quantum decoherence and dissertation of general forms of energy and matter. Here we present a novel theoretical effect involving the spontaneous emission of soft gravitons by photons as they bend around a heavy mass and discuss its observational prospects. Our analytic and numerical investigations suggest that the gravitational bending of starlight predicted by classical general relativity should also be accompanied by the emission of gravitational waves. This in turn redshifts the light causing a loss of its energy somewhat analogous to the bremsstrahlung of electrons by a heavier charged particle. It is suggested that this new effect may be important for a combined astronomical source of intense gravity and high-frequency radiation such as X-ray binaries and that the proposed LISA mission may be potentially sensitive to the resulting sub-Hz stochastic gravitational waves.

中文翻译：

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自发引力波的致辐射

零点波动是量子理论的普遍结果。电磁场的真空波动已经为量子电子作为一种成功的量子场理论提供了重要的证据和指导，量子理论通过兰姆位移，卡西米尔效应和自发辐射具有定义的轨距对称性。在加速框架中，零点电磁场的热化会通过等效原理引起与黑洞的霍金效应相关的Unruh效应。该原理是广义协方差的基础，广义相对论的对称性是经典的引力理论。如果存在量子引力，则引力场的量子真空波动也应导致能量和物质的一般形式的量子退相干和讨论。在这里，我们提出了一种新颖的理论效应，涉及光子围绕重物弯曲时自发发射出的软引力子，并讨论了其观察前景。我们的分析和数值研究表明，经典广义相对论预测的星光的引力弯曲也应伴随引力波的发射。反过来，这会使光发生红移，从而导致其能量的损失有点类似于由较重的带电粒子引起的the致辐射。有人提出，这种新效应对于强烈重力和高频辐射（如X射线双星）的组合天文源可能是重要的，并且拟议的LISA任务可能对由此产生的亚Hz随机重力波敏感。