The Quantum Vacuum: A Misunderstood Sea of Action

The ground states of several fundamental fields in the quantum field theory is thought to be a seat of an infinity of quantum vacuum modes, each with its zero-point energy. Several physical phenomena, like the Casimir force, spontaneous emission, and homodyne noise, find seemingly consistent explanations in this picture of the quantum vacuum. However, a closer and logically rigorous examination of several phenomena reveal that what one currently understands as the oscillatory modes of a field are factually the carrier of “action”, and that it does not carry any zero-point energy in itself. The current theoretical identification of quantum matter and matter fields with their dynamics is fundamentally flawed. In a correct formulation, modes of action replace modes of zero-point energy. This finding, adequately argued in this talk, solves several conceptual problems at the foundation of quantum field theories, and also dissolves the known serious conflict between the divergent energy density of the vacua of quantum fields and the finite and slow expansion of the Universe.