Limits of the measurability of the local quantum electromagnetic-field amplitude

The precision with which the amplitude of the free electromagnetic field can be measured locally in QED is evaluated by analyzing a well-known gedanken experiment originally proposed by Bohr and Rosenfeld (BR). The analysis is performed by applying standard theoretical techniques familiar in quantum optics. The main result obtained for the precision is significantly different from the generally accepted Bohr-Rosenfeld result. This leads to questioning the widely accepted notion of the compensating field, fostered by these authors. A misconception at the origin of this notion is pointed out by a careful investigation of the self-force acting on the apparatus designed to measure the field. The correct expression for this self-force is found to be at variance with that proposed by Bohr and Rosenfeld and generally accepted. It is argued that, as a consequence of this new expression and in contrast with the generally accepted view, no compensating force of nonelectromagnetic nature is required in order to perform measurements of the quantum field amplitude with any desired accuracy. It is shown that the only limitations to the precision of the measurement, in the BR gedanken experiment, arise from the time-energy uncertainty principle, as well as from the finite dimensions of the measuring apparatus.