Zero-point field induced mass vs. QED mass renormalization
Haisch and Rueda have recently proposed a model in which the inertia of charged particles is a consequence of their interaction with the electromagnetic zero-point field. This model is based on the observation that in an accelerated frame the momentum distribution of vacuum fluctuations is not isotropic. We analyze this issue through standard techniques of relativistic field theory, first by regarding the field A_mu as a classical random field, and then by making reference to the mass renormalization procedure in Quantum Electrodynamics and scalar-QED.