Related papers: Spacetime Averaged Null Energy Condition
We begin a systematic study of Quantum Energy Inequalities (QEIs) in relation to local covariance. We define notions of locally covariant QEIs of both 'absolute' and 'difference' types and show that existing QEIs satisfy these conditions.…
This paper reports certain ambiguities in the calculation of the ensemble average $\left<T_\mu{}_\nu\right>$ of the stress-energy-momentum tensor of an arbitrarily coupled massless scalar field in one-dimensional boxes in flat spacetime.…
I show that a quantized Klein-Gordon field in Minkowski space obeys an `operational' weak energy condition: the energy of an isolated device constructed to measure or trap the energy in a region, plus the energy it measures or traps, cannot…
Attention has been recently called upon the fact that the weak and null energy conditions and the second law of thermodynamics are violated in wormhole solutions of Einstein's theory with classical, nonminimally coupled, scalar fields as…
Traditional quantum field theory can lead to enormous zero-point energy, which markedly disagrees with experiment. Unfortunately, this situation is built into conventional canonical quantization procedures. For identical classical theories,…
In thermal quantum field theory, the global Liouvillian (the generator of time translations) is passive. How is this reflected in the properties of its local density, a quantum field? We propose that the locally averaged density is bounded…
Three very recent articles have claimed that it is possible to, at least in theory, either set up positive energy warp drives satisfying the weak energy condition (WEC), or at the very least, to minimize the WEC violations. These claims are…
Quantum energy inequalities (QEIs) express restrictions on the extent to which weighted averages of the renormalized energy density can take negative expectation values within a quantum field theory. Here we derive, for the first time, QEIs…
It is considered the quantum complex scalar field which obeys the authomorphic condition in the two-dimensional spacetime with closed timelike curves and the chronology horizon. The renormalized stress-energy tensor is obtained. It is shown…
We report on a revision of our previous computation of the renormalized expectation value of the stress-energy tensor of a massless, minimally coupled scalar with a quartic self-interaction on a locally de Sitter background. This model is…
We point out that theories of cosmological acceleration which have equation of state, w, such that 1+w is small but positive may still secretly violate the null energy condition. This violation implies the existence of observers for whom…
Hollands and Wald's technique based on *-algebras of Wick products of field operators is strightforwardly generalized to define the stress-energy tensor operator in curved globally hyperbolic spacetimes. In particular, the locality and…
The aim of this review is to outline a full route from the fundamental principles of algebraic quantum field theory on curved spacetime in its present-day form to explicit phenomenological applications which allow for comparison with…
We study violations of the Null Energy Condition (NEC) in Quantum Field Theory (QFT) and their implications. For the first part of the project, we examine these violations for classes of already known and novel (first discussed here) QFT…
We extend the standard treatment of the asymmetric infinite square well to include solutions that have zero curvature over part of the well. This type of solution, both within the specific context of the asymmetric infinite square well and…
The classical singularity theorems of General Relativity rely on energy conditions that are easily violated by quantum fields. Here, we provide motivation for an energy condition obeyed in semiclassical gravity: the smeared null energy…
We show that the stress-energy tensor has additional terms with respect to the ideal form in states of global thermodynamic equilibrium in flat spacetime with non-vanishing acceleration and vorticity. These corrections are of quantum origin…
We explore the implications of the averaged null energy condition for thermal states of relativistic quantum field theories. A key property of such thermal states is the thermalization length. This lengthscale generalizes the notion of a…
It has been shown that classical non-minimally coupled scalar fields can violate all of the standard energy conditions in general relativity. Violations of the null and averaged null energy conditions obtainable with such fields have been…
The last decades have witnessed an unprecedented advancement in our knowledge of the large scale universe. In particular, increasingly accurate cosmological observations have allowed us to discover a form of "dark energy", which presently…