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arXiv · 1212.6249

Torque Anomaly in Quantum Field Theory

S. A. Fulling·F. D. Mera·C. S. Trendafilova
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Abstract

The expectation values of energy density and pressure of a quantum field inside a wedge-shaped region appear to violate the expected relationship between torque and total energy as a function of angle. In particular, this is true of the well-known Deutsch--Candelas stress tensor for the electromagnetic field, whose definition requires no regularization except possibly at the vertex. Unlike a similar anomaly in the pressure exerted by a reflecting boundary against a perpendicular wall, this problem cannot be dismissed as an artifact of an ad hoc regularization.

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S. A. Fulling, F. D. Mera, C. S. Trendafilova. 2012-12-26. Torque Anomaly in Quantum Field Theory. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.87.047702

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