An explicit quantum weak energy inequality for Dirac fields in curved spacetimes

Abstract

The quantized Dirac field is known, by a result of Fewster and Verch, to satisfy a quantum weak energy inequality (QWEI) on its averaged energy density along timelike curves in arbitrary four-dimensional globally hyperbolic spacetimes. However, this result does not provide an explicit form for the bound. By adapting ideas from the earlier work, we give a simplified derivation of a QWEI for the Dirac field leading to an explicit bound. The bound simplifies further in the case of static curves in static spacetimes, and, in particular, coincides with a result of Fewster and Mistry in four-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. We also show that our QWEI is compatible with local covariance and derive a simple consequence.