Related papers: Double-well instantons in finite volume
A new approach to generalised Casimir type of problems is derived within the context of renormalisable quantum field theory (QFT). We study the simplest case of a massive fluctuating boson field coupled to a time-independent background…
We revisit the path integral computation of the Casimir energy between two infinite parallel plates placed in a QED vacuum. We implement perfectly magnetic conductor boundary conditions (as a prelude to the dual superconductor picture of…
Casimir forces are a manifestation of the change in the zero-point energy of the vacuum caused by the insertion of boundaries. We show how the Casimir force can be computed by consideration of the vacuum fluctuations that are suppressed by…
In odd-dimensional spaces, gauge invariance permits a Chern-Simons mass term for the gauge fields in addition to the usual Maxwell-Yang-Mills kinetic energy term. We study the Casimir effect in such a (2+1)-dimensional Abelian theory. For…
The Wightman function and the vacuum expectation values of the field squared and of the energy-momentum tensor are obtained, for a massive scalar field with an arbitrary curvature coupling parameter, in the region between two infinite…
Casimir forces are conventionally computed by analyzing the effects of boundary conditions on a fluctuating quantum field. Although this analysis provides a clean and calculationally tractable idealization, it does not always accurately…
We use a functional approach to the Casimir effect in order to evaluate the exact vacuum energy for a real scalar field in $d+1$ dimensions, in the presence of backgrounds that, in a particular limit, impose Dirichlet boundary conditions on…
In this work we show how to define the action of a scalar field in a such a way that Robin boundary condition is implemented dynamically, i.e., as a consequence of the stationary action principle. We discuss the quantization of that system…
The double-well potential is a good example, where we can compute the splitting in the bound state energy of the system due to the tunneling effect with various methods, namely WKB or instanton calculations. All these methods are…
Within the trln-formalism we investigate the vacuum interaction of cosmic strings and the influence of strings width on this effect. For the massless real scalar field we compute the Casimir contribution into the total vacuum energy. The…
In this paper we study the vacuum quantum fluctuations of the stationary modes of an uncharged scalar field with mass $m$ around a Schwarzschild black hole with mass $M$, at zero and non-zero temperatures. The procedure consists of…
We evaluate quantum effects due to a $2$-component Dirac field in $2+1$ space-time dimensions, coupled to domain-wall like defects with a smooth shape. We show that those effects induce non trivial contributions to the (shape-dependent)…
We calculate the Casimir energy for scalar fields in interaction with finite-width mirrors, described by nonlocal interaction terms. These terms, which include quantum effects due to the matter fields inside the mirrors, are approximated by…
The zero-point energy of a conducting spherical shell is studied by imposing the axial gauge via path-integral methods, with boundary conditions on the electromagnetic potential and ghost fields. The coupled modes are then found to be the…
Using the mode-by-mode summation technique the zero point energy of the electromagnetic field is calculated for the boundary conditions given on the surface of an infinite solid cylinder. It is assumed that the dielectric and magnetic…
The Casimir effect for general Robin conditions on the surface of a cylinder in $D$-spacetime dimensions is studied for massive scalar field with general curvature coupling. The energy distribution and vacuum stress are investigated. We…
The discussion of vacuum energy is currently a subject of great theoretical importance, specially concerning the cosmological constant problem in General Relativity. From Quantum Field Theory, it is stated that vacuum states subject to…
We investigate the vacuum expectation values for the energy-momentum tensor of a massive scalar field with general curvature coupling and obeying the Robin boundary condition on a spherical shell in the $D+1$-dimensional global monopole…
Assuming that tunnel effect between two degenerate bare minima occurs, in a scalar field theory at finite volume, this article studies the consequences for the effective potential, to all loop orders. Convexity is achieved only if the two…
We study the contribution of finite energy tunneling to the total vacuum transition rate in a system at finite temperature. We find that in certain models, such as the 1+1 Abelian Higgs model, the quantum contribution is non-negligible even…