Derivation of the Null Energy Condition
High Energy Physics - Theory
2015-04-08 v2 Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Abstract
We derive the null energy condition, understood as a constraint on the Einstein-frame Ricci tensor, from worldsheet string theory. For a closed bosonic string propagating in a curved geometry, the spacetime interpretation of the Virasoro constraint condition is precisely the null energy condition, to leading nontrivial order in the alpha-prime expansion. Thus the deepest origin of the null energy condition lies in worldsheet diffeomorphism invariance.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1406.5163,
title = {Derivation of the Null Energy Condition},
author = {Maulik Parikh and Jan Pieter van der Schaar},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1406.5163},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
10 pages, journal version