Renormalized Vacuum Energy Density Research Articles

Vacuum Polarization in the Point Impurity Background

The vacuum polarization effect of a massive scalar field φ(x) near the point δ-like source is considered. The corresponding interaction is introduced within a technique of self-adjoint extension of the Laplace operator. This method has been widely discussed within the framework of quantum mechanics. We propose to use it to investigate vacuum field effects. This approach allows computing the renormalized Hadamard function and the renormalized vacuum energy density hT00(x)iren for massive real scalar field with minimal curvature coupling. The dependence of the vacuum polarization effect upon the fields’s mass is analyzed.

Field independent additive constant in Wilson actions

We discuss the field independent additive constant in Wilson actions carefully within the exact renormalization group formalism. The additive constant does not affect the correlation functions of fields normalized by the partition function, and for that reason it is often ignored. But it is an essential part of the partition function, and in the limit where the UV cutoff goes to zero, the constant gives a renormalized vacuum energy density. We discuss some concrete examples: the massless and massive Gaussian theory for a single component scalar field and a Dirac fermion and the linear sigma model in the large N limit. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

The Hierarchy Problem and the Cosmological Constant Problem Revisited

We argue that the Standard Model (SM) in the Higgs phase does not suffer from a "hierarchy problem" and that similarly the "cosmological constant problem" resolves itself if we understand the SM as a low energy effective theory emerging from a cutoff-medium at the Planck scale. We actually take serious Veltman's "The Infrared - Ultraviolet Connection" addressing the issue of quadratic divergences and the related huge radiative correction predicted by the SM in the relationship between the bare and the renormalized theory, usually called "the hierarchy problem" and claimed that this has to be cured. We discuss these issues under the condition of a stable Higgs vacuum, which allows to extend the SM up to the Planck cutoff. The bare Higgs boson mass then changes sign below the Planck scale, such that the SM in the early universe is in the symmetric phase. The cutoff enhanced Higgs mass term as well as the quartically enhanced cosmological constant term provide a large positive dark energy which triggers the inflation of the early universe. Reheating follows via the decays of the four unstable heavy Higgs particles, predominantly into top-antitop pairs, which at this stage are still massless. Preheating is suppressed in SM inflation since in the symmetric phase bosonic decay channels are absent at tree level. The coefficients of the shift between bare and renormalized Higgs mass as well as of the shift between bare and renormalized vacuum energy density exhibit close-by zeros at about $7.7 \times 10^{14}$ GeV and $3.1 \times 10^{15}$ GeV, respectively. The zero of of the Higgs mass counter term triggers the electroweak phase transition from the low energy Higgs phase and to the symmetric phase above the transition point. The scenario highly favors to understand the SM and its main properties as a natural structure emerging at long distance.

Cosmological constant problem and renormalized vacuum energy density in curved background

The current vacuum energy density observed as dark energy ρdark≃ 2.5×10−47 GeV4 is unacceptably small compared with any other scales. Therefore, we encounter serious fine-tuning problem and theoretical difficulty to derive the dark energy. However, the theoretically attractive scenario has been proposed and discussed in literature: in terms of the renormalization-group (RG) running of the cosmological constant, the vacuum energy density can be expressed as ρvacuum≃ m2H2 where m is the mass of the scalar field and rather dynamical in curved spacetime. However, there has been no rigorous proof to derive this expression and there are some criticisms about the physical interpretation of the RG running cosmological constant. In the present paper, we revisit the RG running effects of the cosmological constant and investigate the renormalized vacuum energy density in curved spacetime. We demonstrate that the vacuum energy density described by ρvacuum≃ m2H2 appears as quantum effects of the curved background rather than the running effects of cosmological constant. Comparing to cosmological observational data, we obtain an upper bound on the mass of the scalar fields to be smaller than the Planck mass, m ≲ MPl.

Casimir energy corrections by light-cone fluctuations

We study the effects of light-cone fluctuations on the renormalized zero-point energy associated with a free massless scalar field in the presence of boundaries. In order to simulate light-cone fluctuations, we introduce a space–time dependent random coefficient in the Klein–Gordon operator. We assume that the field is defined in a domain with one confined direction. For simplicity, we choose the symmetric case of two parallel plates separated by a distance a. The correction to the renormalized vacuum energy density between the plates goes as 1/a8instead of the usual 1/a4dependence for the free case. In turn, we also show that light-cone fluctuations break down the vacuum pressure homogeneity between the plates.

Casimir effect due to a slowly rotating source in the weak-field approximation

We calculate the renormalized vacuum energy density for a massless scalar field confined between two nearby parallel plates formed by ideal uncharged conductors, placed very close to the surface of a rotating spherical gravitational source with mass $M$, radius $R$ and angular momentum $J$, at the equatorial region. We consider that the source rotates slowly and that the gravitational field is weak. Corrections to the Casimir energy density induced by the gravitational field generated by this source are calculated up to $M/{R}^{2}$ order. The results obtained show us that there is an important modification in the Casimir energy only in this order of approximation, which depends on the surface gravity as well as on the rotation of the source. Thermal corrections to the Casimir energy found are also calculated in all these orders.

Zero-point quantum fluctuations and dark energy

In the Hamiltonian formulation of General Relativity the energy associated to an asymptotically flat space-time with metric $g_{\mu\nu}$ is related to the Hamiltonian $H_{GR}$ by $E=H_{GR}[g_{\mu\nu}]-H_{\rm GR}[\eta_{\mu\nu}]$, where the subtraction of the flat-space contribution is necessary to get rid of an otherwise divergent boundary term. This classic result indicates that the energy associated to flat space does not gravitate. We apply the same principle to study the effect of zero-point fluctuations of quantum fields in cosmology, proposing that their contribution to the cosmic expansion is obtained computing the vacuum energy of quantum fields in a FRW space-time with Hubble parameter $H(t)$ and subtracting from it the flat-space contribution. [...] After renormalization, this produces a renormalized vacuum energy density $\sim M^2H^2(t)$, where $M$ is the scale where quantum gravity sets is, so for $M$ of order of the Planck mass a vacuum energy density of the order of the critical density can be obtained without any fine tuning. The counterterms can be chosen so that the renormalized energy density and pressure satisfy $p=w\rho$, with $w$ a parameter that can be fixed by comparison to the observed value, so in particular one can chose $w=-1$. An energy density evolving in time as $H^2(t)$ is however observationally excluded as an explanation for the dominant dark energy component which is responsible for the observed acceleration of the universe. We rather propose that zero-point vacuum fluctuations provide a new subdominant "dark" contribution to the cosmic expansion that, for a UV scale $M$ slightly smaller than the Planck mass, is consistent with existing limits and potentially detectable.

Casimir energy density for spherical universes in n-dimensional spacetime

We consider the Casimir effect for the massless conformal scalar field in an n-dimensional, closed, static universe. We calculate the renormalized vacuum energy density using the covariant point-splitting method, the mode-sum regularization and the renormalized vacuum energy with the zeta-function regularization. We observe that all odd spacetime dimensions give us the zero renormalized vacuum energy density. For even spacetime dimensions the renormalized vacuum energy density oscillates in sign. The result agrees with three regularization techniques. The Casimir energy density for spherical universes in n-dimensional spacetime is regarded as interesting both to understand the correspondence between the sign of the effect and the dimension of manifold in topology and as a key to confirming the Casimir energy for half spherical universes (manifold with boundary) in n-dimensional spacetime.

Systematics of the relationship between vacuum energy calculations and heat-kernel coefficients

Casimir energy is a nonlocal effect; its magnitude cannot be deduced from heat-kernel expansions, even those including the integrated boundary terms. On the other hand, it is known that the divergent terms in the regularized (but not yet renormalized) total vacuum energy are associated with the heat-kernel coefficients. Here a recent study of the relations among the eigenvalue density, the heat kernel and the integral kernel of the operator e−t√H is exploited to characterize this association completely. Various previously isolated observations about the structure of the regularized energy emerge naturally. For over 20 years controversies have persisted stemming from the fact that certain (presumably physically meaningful) terms in the renormalized vacuum energy density in the interior of a cavity become singular at the boundary and correlate to certain divergent terms in the regularized total energy. The point of view of the present paper promises to help resolve these issues.