How unique is the expected stress-energy tensor of a massive scalar field?

Wolfgang Tichy and Éanna É. Flanagan
Phys. Rev. D 58, 124007 – Published 13 November 1998
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Abstract

We show that the set of ambiguities in the renormalized expected stress-energy tensor allowed by the Wald axioms is much larger for a massive scalar field (an infinite number of free parameters) than for a massless scalar field (two free parameters). We also use the closed-time-path effective action formalism of Schwinger to calculate the expected value of the stress-energy tensor in the incoming vacuum state, for a massive scalar field, on any spacetime which is a linear perturbation off Minkowski spacetime. This result generalizes an earlier result of Horowitz and also Jordan in the massless case, and can be used as a testbed for comparing different calculational methods.

  • Received 9 June 1998

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.58.124007

©1998 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Wolfgang Tichy and Éanna É. Flanagan

  • Cornell University, Newman Laboratory, Ithaca, New York 14853-5001

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Issue

Vol. 58, Iss. 12 — 15 December 1998

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