Abstract
Quantum radiation from a moving dielectric semi-infinite half-space is investigated in a scalar model in two, three, and arbitrary integer spatial dimensions. The dielectric medium is non-dispersive and non-absorbing. The Hamiltonian describing the field in the presence of the moving dielectric body is obtained from considerations of Lorentz invariance. The field is quantized by an expansion into photon eigenmodes that are composed of incoming, reflected, and transmitted plane waves. The treatment includes total internal reflection and evanescent modes which are specific to dimensions 
. The Schrödinger equation for the state of the field is solved to first order in the velocity of the dielectric by a generalized adiabatic approximation. Non-uniform motion is found to lead to the emission of photon pairs whose spectrum and angular distribution are analysed in detail. The radiated energy and the radiation-reaction force are studied with particular emphasis to their dependence on the dimension of the system. In addition, the energy is worked out for several test trajectories.