Kontou, Eleni-Alexandra orcid.org/0000-0003-4409-8188 and Olum, Ken D. (2015) Quantum inequality in spacetimes with small curvature. Physical Review D. 104005. pp. 1-14. ISSN 2470-0029
Abstract
Quantum inequalities bound the extent to which weighted time averages of the renormalized energy density of a quantum field can be negative. They have mostly been proved in flat spacetime, but we need curved-spacetime inequalities to disprove the existence of exotic phenomena, such as closed timelike curves. In this work we derive such an inequality for a minimally-coupled scalar field on a geodesic in a spacetime with small curvature, working to first order in the Ricci tensor and its derivatives. Since only the Ricci tensor enters, there are no first-order corrections to the flat-space quantum inequalities on paths which do not encounter any matter or energy.
Metadata
Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | 21 pages |
Keywords: | gr-qc, math-ph, math.MP, quant-ph |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Mathematics (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 03 May 2018 13:20 |
Last Modified: | 06 Dec 2023 12:27 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.91.104005 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.91.104005 |