Observation of the Scharnhorst effect via multipass Casimir - Lloyd interferometry

Observation of the Scharnhorst effect via multipass Casimir - Lloyd interferometry | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Physical Sciences - Article Observation of the Scharnhorst effect via multipass Casimir - Lloyd interferometry Mikhail Anisimov, Kirill Sinyukov This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8039597/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The Scharnhorst effect – a quantum-electrodynamic prediction that light propagates faster than c between closely spaced conducting plates due to modified vacuum fluctuations – has remained experimentally inaccessible since its theoretical inception in 1990. Here, we propose and theoretically validate a novel interferometric scheme that circumvents the need for direct velocity measurement by detecting the accumulated phase shift of photons traversing a nanoscale Casimir cavity in a multipass Lloyd interferometer. By combining angular scanning, high-reflectivity mirrors, quantum-noise suppression, and resonant signal amplification, our design achieves a signal-to-noise ratio exceeding unity for realistic experimental parameters (5 nm plate separation, 10 nm XUV radiation, cryogenic operation). This work opens a feasible pathway toward the first empirical test of superluminal photon propagation in modified quantum vacuum, with implications for fundamental physics, quantum field theory in bounded geometries, and vacuum engineering. Physical sciences/Physics/Quantum physics/Quantum metrology Physical sciences/Physics/Optical physics/Single photons and quantum effects Physical sciences/Physics/Quantum physics/Single photons and quantum effects Physical sciences/Physics/Optical physics/Quantum optics Physical sciences/Physics/Quantum physics/Theoretical physics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Supplementaryinformation.pdf Observation of the Scharnhorst effect via multipass Casimir - Lloyd interferometry. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8039597","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Physical Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":540476586,"identity":"eac47ad3-fa55-4483-8126-654d116d718c","order_by":0,"name":"Mikhail Anisimov","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA8ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDAC5gMMBxhAiL2x8QGQz8NHUAtbAsMBsC6ew80GIC1sxGhhAGuRSG+TAAsQ0sHPxvvw8AeGO/LyDYltlV9z7GTYGJgfPrqBR4tkG7sB0GHPDDccONh2W3ZbMtBhbMbGOXi0GNxvA/nlMOMGxsa225LbmIFaeNik8WmxP8YG1mI/v5mxrVhyWz1hLQZsEC2JDccY2xg/bjtMWIsEyJYzBoeTN5xhbJZm3Hach42ZgF/429iYP1RUHLadP//5w48/t1Xb87M3P3yMTwvUeRCKmQdMElSOBBh/kKJ6FIyCUTAKRgwAAG7dTDRuRdmAAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0078-0930","institution":"Bauman Moscow State Technical University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mikhail","middleName":"","lastName":"Anisimov","suffix":""},{"id":540476587,"identity":"67eeaf07-b332-4ff7-8110-be2d299ecbcc","order_by":1,"name":"Kirill Sinyukov","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"A.N. Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kirill","middleName":"","lastName":"Sinyukov","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-11-05 14:52:52","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8039597/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8039597/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":95797478,"identity":"7bb61c78-0f24-4787-a806-d0c68677e357","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-13 08:05:50","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":399371,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ObservationoftheScharnhorsteffectviamultipassCasimir.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8039597/v1_covered_eba5970a-a974-4724-856c-7d4c4dfdbcad.pdf"},{"id":95276415,"identity":"c2663352-6380-4999-8726-d3334c638040","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-06 08:24:15","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":256769,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Observation of the Scharnhorst effect via multipass Casimir - Lloyd interferometry.","description":"","filename":"Supplementaryinformation.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8039597/v1/f64057d73281a5c7a920fc88.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eObservation of the Scharnhorst effect via multipass Casimir - Lloyd interferometry\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8039597/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8039597/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The Scharnhorst effect – a quantum-electrodynamic prediction that light propagates faster than c between closely spaced conducting plates due to modified vacuum fluctuations – has remained experimentally inaccessible since its theoretical inception in 1990. Here, we propose and theoretically validate a novel interferometric scheme that circumvents the need for direct velocity measurement by detecting the accumulated phase shift of photons traversing a nanoscale Casimir cavity in a multipass Lloyd interferometer. By combining angular scanning, high-reflectivity mirrors, quantum-noise suppression, and resonant signal amplification, our design achieves a signal-to-noise ratio exceeding unity for realistic experimental parameters (5 nm plate separation, 10 nm XUV radiation, cryogenic operation). This work opens a feasible pathway toward the first empirical test of superluminal photon propagation in modified quantum vacuum, with implications for fundamental physics, quantum field theory in bounded geometries, and vacuum engineering.","manuscriptTitle":"Observation of the Scharnhorst effect via multipass Casimir - Lloyd interferometry","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-11-06 08:24:10","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8039597/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"ab8e6daf-467d-4147-9fb1-387a787a2ba0","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 6th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":57532182,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics/Quantum physics/Quantum metrology"},{"id":57532183,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics/Optical physics/Single photons and quantum effects"},{"id":57532184,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics/Quantum physics/Single photons and quantum effects"},{"id":57532185,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics/Optical physics/Quantum optics"},{"id":57532186,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics/Quantum physics/Theoretical physics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-11-11T17:55:11+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-11-06 08:24:10","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8039597","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8039597","identity":"rs-8039597","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}