Related papers: Interpolating Between Topologies: Casimir Energies
We investigate spatially flat isotropic cosmological models which contain a scalar field with an exponential potential and a perfect fluid with a linear equation of state. We include an interaction term, through which the energy of the…
This paper proposes a general framework for nonperturbatively defining continuum quantum field theories. Unlike most such frameworks, the one offered here is finitary: continuum theories are defined by reducing large but finite quantum…
Quantum fluctuations or other moments of a state contribute to energy expectation values and can imply interesting physical effects. In quantum cosmology, they turn out to be important for a discussion of density bounds and instabilities of…
A harmonic oscillator is an indefinite-frequency one if the parameter $\omega$ is replaced by an operator. An ensemble of $N$ such oscillators may be regarded as a toy model of a bosonic quantum field. All the possible frequencies…
The role of topology in elementary quantum physics is discussed in detail. It is argued that attributes of classical spatial topology emerge from properties of state vectors with suitably smooth time evolution. Equivalently, they emerge…
The quantum theory of fields is largely based on studying perturbations around non-interacting, or free, field theories, which correspond to a collection of quantum-mechanical harmonic oscillators. The quantum theory of an ordinary fluid is…
The physics of quantum gravity is discussed within the framework of topological quantum field theory. Some of the principles are illustrated with examples taken from theories in which space-time is three dimensional.
Zero-point energy is generally known to be unphysical. Casimir effect, however, is often presented as a counterexample, giving rise to a conceptual confusion. To resolve the confusion we study foundational aspects of Casimir effect at a…
We consider coupling an ordinary quantum field theory with an infinite number of degrees of freedom to a topological field theory. On R^d the new theory differs from the original one by the spectrum of operators. Sometimes the local…
A new approach to quantum mechanics based on independence of the Continuum Hypothesis is proposed. In one-dimensional case, it is shown that the properties of the set of intermediate cardinality coincide with quantum phenomenology.
The Casimir effect is a physical manifestation of zero point energy of quantum vacuum. In a relativistic quantum field theory, Poincar\'e symmetry of the theory seems, at first sight, to imply that non-zero vacuum energy is inconsistent…
Energy-parity has been introduced by Kaplan and Sundrum as a protective symmetry that suppresses matter contributions to the cosmological constant [KS05]. It is shown here that this symmetry, schematically Energy --> - Energy, arises in the…
In this paper we study the system of a scalar quantum field confined between two plane, isotropic, and homogeneous parallel plates at thermal equilibrium. We represent the plates by the most general lossless and frequency-independent…
Recent studies have shown that topological models with interacting anyonic quasiparticles can be used as self-correcting quantum memories. Here we study the behaviour of these models at thermal equilibrium. It is found that the interactions…
We present new results for Casimir forces between rigid bodies which impose Dirichlet boundary conditions on a fluctuating scalar field. As a universal computational tool, we employ worldline numerics which builds on a combination of the…
We consider the possibility of energy being exchanged between the scalar and matter fields in scalar-tensor theories of gravity. Such an exchange provides a new mechanism which can drive variations in the gravitational 'constant' G. We find…
Continuous transitions between states with the {\em same} symmetry but different topological orders are studied. Clean quantum Hall (QH) liquids with neutral quasiparticles are shown to have such transitions. For clean bilayer (nnm) states,…
Topology in photonics comes in two distinct flavors: global and local. Global topology considers invariants that are obtained by integrating over the energy band, whereas local topology considers defects, typically vortices, in the…
We study the oscillations of a scalar field on a noncommutative disc implementing the boundary as the limit case of an interaction with an appropriately chosen confining background. The space of quantum fluctuations of the field is finite…
In this first paper, we demonstrate a theorem that establishes a first step toward proving a necessary topological condition for the occurrence of first or second order phase transitions: we prove that the topology of certain submanifolds…