We argue that the energy levels of an Unruh detector experience an effect
similar to the Lamb shift in Quantum Electrodynamics. As a consequence, the
spectrum of energy levels in a curved background is different from that in flat
space. As examples, we consider a detector in an expanding Universe and in
Rindler space, and for the latter case we suggest a new expression for the
local virtual energy density seen by an accelerated observer. In the
ultraviolet domain, that is when the space between the energy levels is larger
than the Hubble rate or the acceleration of the detector, the Lamb shift
quantitatively dominates over the thermal response rate.Comment: 20 page