Energy-level shifts of a uniformly accelerated atom between two reflecting plates

Abstract

We discuss the radiative level shifts of a uniformly accelerated atom moving between two infinite reflecting plates and interacting with a massless scalar field in the vacuum state. The atom, supposed to be a two-level system, accelerates in a direction parallel to the conducting plates. We evaluate separately the contributions of vacuum fluctuations and radiation reaction field to the energy shift of the atomic levels, and discuss their dependence on acceleration, atomic position and cavity length.