Vacuum polarization of the quantized massive fields in Friedman-Robertson-Walker spacetime

Abstract

The stress-energy tensor of the quantized massive fields in a spatially open, flat, and closed Friedman-Robertson-Walker universe is constructed using the adiabatic regularization (for the scalar field) and the Schwinger-DeWitt approach (for the scalar, spinor, and vector fields). It is shown that the stress-energy tensor calculated in the sixth adiabatic order coincides with the result obtained from the regularized effective action, constructed from the heat kernel coefficient ${a}_{3}$. The behavior of the tensor is examined in the power-law cosmological models, and the semiclassical Einstein field equations are solved exactly in a few physically interesting cases, such as the generalized Starobinsky models.