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
| Item Type: | Article | 
|---|---|
| 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: | 17 Sep 2025 00:53 | 
| Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.91.104005 | 
| Status: | Published | 
| Refereed: | Yes | 
| Identification Number: | 10.1103/PhysRevD.91.104005 | 
| Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:130424 | 

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