Related papers: Quantum vacuum effects as generalized f(R) gravity…
The Einstein equation in a semi-classical approximation is applied to a spherical region of the universe, with the stress-energy tensor consisting of the mass density and pressure of the LambdaCDM cosmological model plus an additional…
The stress-energy tensor of the quantum vacuum is studied for the particular case of quantum electrodynamics (QED), that is a fictituous universe where only the electromagnetic and the electron-positron fields exist. The integrals involved…
In previous work it has been shown that the electromagnetic quantum vacuum, or electromagnetic zero-point field, makes a contribution to the inertial reaction force on an accelerated object. We show that the result for inertial mass can be…
General relativity promotes space-time to a physical, dynamical object subject to equations of motion. Quantum gravity, accordingly, must provide a quantum framework for space-time, applicable on the smallest distance scales. Just like…
We discuss some effects induced by quantum field fluctuations on mass, inertia and gravitation. Recalling the problem raised by vacuum field fluctuations with respect to inertia and gravitation, we show that vacuum energy differences, such…
It has been widely believed that, except in very extreme situations, the influence of gravity on quantum fields should amount to just small, sub-dominant contributions. This view seemed to be endorsed by the seminal results obtained over…
We define the notion of energy, and compute its values, for gravitational systems involving terms quadratic in curvature. While our construction parallels that of ordinary Einstein gravity, there are significant differences both…
We analyze the quantum fluctuations of vacuum stress tensors and spacetime curvatures, using the framework of linear response theory which connects these fluctuations to dissipation mechanisms arising when stress tensors and spacetime…
It has been shown that if one solves self-consistently the semiclassical Einstein equations in the presence of a quantum scalar field, with a cutoff on the number of modes, spacetime become flatter when the cutoff increases. Here we extend…
Inspired by Einstein's Strong Principle of Equivalence we consider the effects of quantum mechanics to the gravity-like phenomena experienced by an observer in a uniformly accelerating motion in flat spacetime. Among other things, our model…
The quantum contributions to the gravitational action are relatively easy to calculate in the higher derivative sector of the theory. However, the applications to the post-inflationary cosmology and astrophysics require the corrections to…
In this paper, we study the Casimir effect in a curved spacetime described by gravitational actions quadratic in the curvature. In particular, we consider the dynamics of a massless scalar field confined between two nearby plates and…
The low energy effective theory of gravity comprises two elements of quantum theory joined to classical general relativity. The first is the quantum conformal anomaly, which is responsible for macroscopic correlations on light cones and a…
Generalized Dirac equation containing vacuum-mass contribution is introduced. The vacuum-mass contribution arises due to the coupling of quantum mechanical matter field with the vacuum field. Vacuum stress energy tensor arises in the…
Using the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation and the equation of state of zero temperature ultra-relativistic Fermi gas based on generalized uncertainty principle (GUP), the quantum gravitational effects on the cores of compact stars are…
We discuss the weight of vacuum energy in various contexts. First, we compute the vacuum energy for flat spacetimes of the form $\mathbb{T}^3 \times \mathbb{R}$, where $\mathbb{T}^3$ stands for a general 3-torus. We discover a quite simple…
General relativity describes the gravitational field geometrically and in a self-interacting way because it couples to all forms of energy, including its own. Both features make finding a quantum theory difficult, yet it is important in the…
Quantum inequality restrictions on the stress-energy tensor for negative energy are developed for three and four-dimensional static spacetimes. We derive a general inequality in terms of a sum of mode functions which constrains the…
Fully covariant wave equations predict the existence of a class of inertial-gravitational effects that can be tested experimentally. In these equations inertia and gravity appear as external classical fields, but, by conforming to general…
It is shown that quantum vacuum fluctuations give rise to a curvature of space-time of the order appropriate to explain the observed accelerated expansion of the universe. The fact that the fluctuations produce curvature, even if the…