Search results for "Quantum field theory in curved spacetime"
showing 10 items of 26 documents
Cosmological Horizon Modes and Linear Response in de Sitter Spacetime
2009
Linearized fluctuations of quantized matter fields and the spacetime geometry around de Sitter space are considered in the case that the matter fields are conformally invariant. Taking the unperturbed state of the matter to be the de Sitter invariant Bunch-Davies state, the linear variation of the stress tensor about its self-consistent mean value serves as a source for fluctuations in the geometry through the semiclassical Einstein equations. This linear response framework is used to investigate both the importance of quantum backreaction and the validity of the semiclassical approximation in cosmology. The full variation of the stress tensor delta bi contains two kinds of terms: (1) those…
Electric-magnetic duality and renormalization in curved spacetimes
2014
We point out that the duality symmetry of free electromagnetism does not hold in the quantum theory if an arbitrary classical gravitational background is present. The symmetry breaks in the process of renormalization, as also happens with conformal invariance. We show that a similar duality-anomaly appears for a massless scalar field in $1+1$ dimensions.
Late-time correlations in semiclassical particle-black hole scattering
2002
We analyse the quantum corrected geometry and radiation in the scattering of extremal black holes by low-energy neutral matter. We point out the fact that the correlators of local observables inside the horizon are the same as those of the vacuum. Outside the horizon the correlators at late times are much bigger than those of the (thermal) case obtained neglecting the backreaction. This suggests that the corrected Hawking radiation could be compatible with unitarity.
Renormalized stress-energy tensor for spin-1/2 fields in expanding universes
2014
We provide an explicit expression for the renormalized expectation value of the stress-energy tensor of a spin-$1/2$ field in a spatially flat FLRW universe. Its computation is based on the extension of the adiabatic regularization method to fermion fields introduced recently in the literature. The tensor is given in terms of UV-finite integrals in momentum space, which involve the mode functions that define the quantum state. As illustrative examples of the method efficiency, we see how to compute the renormalized energy density and pressure in two interesting cosmological scenarios: a de Sitter spacetime and a radiation-dominated universe. In the second case, we explicitly show that the l…
M-theory, graphene-branes and superconducting wormholes
2017
Exploiting an M-brane system whose structure and symmetries are inspired by those of graphene (what we call a graphene-brane), we propose here a similitude between two layers of graphene joined by a nanotube and wormholes scenarios in the brane world. By using the symmetries and mathematical properties of the M-brane system, we show here how to possibly increase its conductivity, to the point of making it as a superconductor. The questions of whether and under which condition this might point to the corresponding real graphene structures becoming superconducting are briefly outlined.
Reply to "Comment on 'Insensitivity of Hawking radiation to an invariant Planck-scale cutoff' "
2010
We clarify the relationship between the conclusions of the previous Comment of A. Helfer and that of our Brief Report.
Nonlocal density correlations as a signature of Hawking radiation from acoustic black holes
2008
We have used the analogy between gravitational systems and nonhomogeneous fluid flows to calculate the density-density correlation function of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate in the presence of an acoustic black hole. The emission of correlated pairs of phonons by Hawking-like process results into a peculiar long-range density correlation. Quantitative estimations of the effect are provided for realistic experimental configurations.
Adiabatic regularization for spin-1/2 fields
2013
We extend the adiabatic regularization method to spin-1/2 fields. The ansatz for the adiabatic expansion for fermionic modes differs significantly from the WKB-type template that works for scalar modes. We give explicit expressions for the first adiabatic orders and analyze particle creation in de Sitter spacetime. As for scalar fields, the adiabatic method can be distinguished by its capability to overcome the UV divergences of the particle number operator. We also test the consistency of the extended method by working out the conformal and axial anomalies for a Dirac field in a Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker spacetime, in exact agreement with those obtained from other renormalization…
Short-distance contribution to the spectrum of Hawking radiation
2006
The Hawking effect can be rederived in terms of two-point functions and in such a way that it makes it possible to estimate, within the conventional semiclassical theory, the contribution of ultrashort distances to the Planckian spectrum. For Schwarzschild black holes of three solar masses the analysis shows that Hawking radiation is very robust up to frequencies of 96 T_H or 270 T_H for bosons and fermions, respectively. For primordial black holes (with masses around 10^{15} g) these frequencies turn out to be of order 52T_H and 142 T_H. Only at these frequencies and above do we find that the contribution of Planck distances is of order of the total spectrum itself. Below this scale, the c…
Equivalence of Adiabatic and DeWitt-Schwinger renormalization schemes
2014
We prove that adiabatic regularization and DeWitt-Schwinger point-splitting provide the same result for the renormalized expectation values of the stress-energy tensor for spin-$1/2$ fields. This generalizes the equivalence found for scalar fields, which is here recovered in a different way. We also argue that the coincidence limit of the DeWitt-Schwinger proper time expansion of the two-point function exactly agrees with the analogous expansion defined by the adiabatic regularization method at any order (for both scalar and spin-$1/2$ fields). We also illustrate the power of the adiabatic method to compute higher order DeWitt coefficients in FLRW universes.