Abstract
The local momentum space expansion for the real vector field is considered. Using Riemann normal coordinates we obtain an expansion of the Feynman Green function up to and including terms that are quadratic in the curvature. The results are valid for a nonminimal operator such as that arising from a general Feynman-type gauge fixing condition. The result is used to derive the first three terms in the asymptotic expansion for the coincidence limit of the heat kernel without taking the trace, thus obtaining the untraced heat kernel coefficients. The spacetime dimension is kept general before specializing to four dimensions for comparison with previously known results. As a further application we reexamine the anomalous trace of the stress-energy-momentum tensor for the Maxwell field and comment on the gauge dependence.
- Received 4 August 2014
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.90.044072
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