arXiv subjects

Bruno S. Felipe

Publications and source records attributed to Bruno S. Felipe.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Tachyonic modes as a resonant system in weakly curved stellar spacetimes

A real scalar field nonminimally coupled to the curvature of an astrophysical object can develop an effective potential that supports, alongside stable oscillatory solutions, a set of tachyonic modes with purely imaginary frequencies. Focusing on constant-density Newtonian stars, we show that the tachyonic sector behaves as a collection of decoupled inverted harmonic oscillators, whose quantization is naturally addressed within the rigged Hilbert space formalism. At the quantum level, this sector is described by resonant states, with mean lifetimes determined by the associated imaginary frequencies. To probe the physical implications of this framework, we compute the transition probability of an Unruh-DeWitt detector in a circular orbit. In the presence of tachyonic modes, the detector response acquires an additional finite Lorentzian profile that modifies the standard circular Unruh-like background.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Unstable mode and the Unruh-DeWitt detector

We investigate the quantization of a single unstable mode in a real scalar field subject to a Robin boundary condition in (1+1)-dimensional half-Minkowski spacetime. The instability arises from an imaginary frequency mode - analogous to that of the inverted harmonic oscillator - requiring the rigged Hilbert space formalism for consistent quantization. Within this framework, the unstable mode is naturally described as a well-defined decaying (or growing) quantum state with a characteristic mean lifetime. We investigate its physical consequences via the response of an Unruh-DeWitt detector along static, inertial, and uniformly accelerated trajectories. For static and inertial observers, the detector response exhibits a Breit-Wigner resonance profile, with a decay width determined by the unstable frequency and a Doppler factor. In the Neumann limit, infrared divergences emerge from arbitrarily low-frequency modes. Interestingly, for accelerated detectors, the response acquires a nontrivial dependence on acceleration, and the Neumann limit yields a finite, oscillatory signal rather than a divergence, suggesting that acceleration can act as an effective infrared regulator.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Quantum superposition of boundary condition in $\mathrm{PAdS}_2$

We explore the quantum superposition of boundary conditions in the context of the Poincar\'e patch of the two-dimensional Anti-de Sitter space ($\mathrm{PAdS}_2$). Focusing on Robin (mixed) boundary conditions (RBC), we investigate the response function of the Unruh-DeWitt (UDW) detector interacting with two or more scalar fields, each respecting a different boundary condition. The role of this quantum superposition is two-fold: i) it may represent different fields propagating on the same spacetime and interacting with an UDW detector or ii) it may describe an UDW detector on a superposition of spacetimes, each one with an inequivalent propagating field.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Quantum Approach to Bound States in Field Theory

It is well known that (possibly non-unique) suitable field dynamics can be prescribed in spacetimes with timelike boundaries by means of appropriate boundary conditions. In Ref. [J. Math. Phys. {\bf 21}, 2802 (1980)], Wald derived a conserved energy functional for each prescribed dynamics. This conserved energy is related to the positive self-adjoint extensions of the spatial part $A$ of the wave equation $\partial^2\Phi/\partial t^2=-A\Phi$ ($A$ may not be, in principle, essentially self-adjoint). This is quite surprising since the canonical energy is not conserved in these cases. In this paper, we rederive this energy functional from an action principle (with appropriate boundary terms) following Ref. [Phys. Rev. D, {\bf 69}, 085005, (2004)] and consider field dynamics arising from non-positive self-adjoint extensions of $A$. The spectrum of the resulting theory fails to be positive and unstable mode solutions for classical fields come to light. By studying fields in half-Minkowski spacetime, we illustrate that these unstable classical solutions come as a consequence of an inverted parabolic potential governing their dynamics. From the quantum mechanical point of view, this leads to an effective inverted harmonic oscillator at the boundary. We then explore these unstable modes behavior, as well as their instabilities, at the quantum level.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Unruh-DeWitt detector in $\textrm{AdS}_2$

We find the response function and the transition rate for an Unruh-DeWitt detector interacting with a conformal scalar field in global two-dimensional anti--de Sitter (AdS) spacetime with different boundary conditions at its conformal infinities. We calculate the particle energy spectrum as seen by subcritical accelerated detectors and discuss how it depends on the choice of the boundary condition. We show that, despite this nontrivial dependence on the boundary conditions, the limit when the AdS length scale tends to zero is well defined and leads to the well-known results of 1+1 Minkowski space. One can thus interpret the AdS energy scale as a natural regulator for the well-known infrared ambiguity of massless scalar fields in 1+1 Minkowski spacetime.

gr-qc↗