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K. Kirsten

Publications and source records attributed to K. Kirsten.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2018

On the entropy of a spherical plasma shell

Negative entropy was repeatedly observed in the Casimir effect caused by dissipation or geometry. However, it was restricted to subsystems. Recently the question about the entropy for a complete Casimir effect like configuration was raised. In the present paper we consider a spherical plasma shell which can be considered as a (crude) model for a giant carbon molecule (e.g., $C_{60}$). The entropy is free of ultraviolet divergences and its calculation does not need any regularization. We calculate the entropy numerically and demonstrate unambiguously the existence of a region where it takes negative values. This region is at small values of temperature and plasma frequency (in units of the radius).

quant-ph↗
arXiv2016

Zeta Functions of the Dirac Operator on Quantum Graphs

We construct spectral zeta functions for the Dirac operator on metric graphs. We start with the case of a rose graph, a graph with a single vertex where every edge is a loop. The technique is then developed to cover any finite graph with general energy independent matching conditions at the vertices. The regularized spectral determinant of the Dirac operator is also obtained as the derivative of the zeta function at a special value. In each case the zeta function is formulated using a contour integral method, which extends results obtained for Laplace and Schrodinger operators on graphs.

math-ph↗
arXiv2012

Heat trace asymptotics and the Gauss-Bonnet Theorem for general connections

We examine the local super trace asymptotics for the de Rham complex defined by an arbitrary super connection on the exterior algebra. We show, in contrast to the situation in which the connection in question is the Levi-Civita connection, that these invariants are generically non-zero in positive degree and that the critical term is not the Pfaffian.

math.AP↗
arXiv2012

Vacuum energy of Schrödinger operators on metric graphs

We present an integral formulation of the vacuum energy of Schrödinger operators on finite metric graphs. Local vertex matching conditions on the graph are classified according to the general scheme of Kostrykin and Schrader. While the vacuum energy of the graph can contain finite ambiguities the Casimir force on a bond with compactly supported potential is well defined. The vacuum energy is determined from the zeta function of the graph Schrödinger operator which is derived from an appropriate secular equation via the argument principle. A quantum graph has an associated probabilistic classical dynamics which is generically both ergodic and mixing. The results therefore present an analytic formulation of the vacuum energy of this quasi-one-dimensional quantum system which is classically chaotic.

math-ph↗
arXiv2011

Spectral determinants and zeta functions of Schrödinger operators on metric graphs

A derivation of the spectral determinant of the Schrödinger operator on a metric graph is presented where the local matching conditions at the vertices are of the general form classified according to the scheme of Kostrykin and Schrader. To formulate the spectral determinant we first derive the spectral zeta function of the Schrödinger operator using an appropriate secular equation. The result obtained for the spectral determinant is along the lines of the recent conjecture.

math-ph↗
arXiv2011

Hardy inequality and heat semigroup estimates for Riemannian manifolds with singular data

Upper bounds are obtained for the heat content of an open set D in a geodesically complete Riemannian manifold M with Dirichlet boundary condition on bd(D), and non-negative initial condition. We show that these upper bounds are close to being sharp if (i) the Dirichlet-Laplace-Beltrami operator acting in $L^2(D)$ satisfies a strong Hardy inequality with weight $r^2$, (ii) the initial temperature distribution, and the specific heat of D are given by $r^{-a}$ and $r^{-b}$ respectively, where $r$ is the distance to the boundary, and 1<a<2, 1<b<2.

math.SP↗
arXiv2011

Growth of heat trace and heat content asymptotic coefficients

We show in the smooth category that the heat trace asymptotics and the heat content asymptotics can be made to grow arbitrarily rapidly. In the real analytic context, however, this is not true and we establish universal bounds on their growth.

math.AP↗
arXiv2010

Zeta functions of quantum graphs

In this article we construct zeta functions of quantum graphs using a contour integral technique based on the argument principle. We start by considering the special case of the star graph with Neumann matching conditions at the center of the star. We then extend the technique to allow any matching conditions at the center for which the Laplace operator is self-adjoint and finally obtain an expression for the zeta function of any graph with general vertex matching conditions. In the process it is convenient to work with new forms for the secular equation of a quantum graph that extend the well known secular equation of the Neumann star graph. In the second half of the article we apply the zeta function to obtain new results for the spectral determinant, vacuum energy and heat kernel coefficients of quantum graphs. These have all been topics of current research in their own right and in each case this unified approach significantly expands results in the literature.

math-ph↗
arXiv2010

Semitransparent pistons

We consider semitransparent pistons in the presence of extra dimensions. It is shown that the piston is always attracted to the closest wall irrespective of details of the geometry and topology of the extra dimensions and of the cross section of the piston. Furthermore, we evaluate the zeta regularized determinant for this configuration.

hep-th↗
arXiv2010

Finite Temperature Casimir Effect in the Presence of Extra Dimensions

We consider the finite temperature Casimir force acting on two parallel plates in a closed cylinder with the same cross section of arbitrary shape in the presence of extra dimensions. Dirichlet boundary conditions are imposed on one plate and fractional Neumann conditions with order between zero (Dirichlet) and one (Neumann) are imposed on the other plate. Formulas for the Casimir force show that it is always attractive for Dirichlet boundary conditions, and is always repulsive when the fractional order is larger than 1/2. For some fractional orders less than 1/2, the Casimir force can be either attractive or repulsive depending on the size of the internal manifold and temperature.

hep-th↗
arXiv2010

Vacuum energy, spectral determinant and heat kernel asymptotics of graph Laplacians with general vertex matching conditions

We consider Laplace operators on metric graphs, networks of one-dimensional line segments (bonds), with matching conditions at the vertices that make the operator self-adjoint. Such quantum graphs provide a simple model of quantum mechanics in a classically chaotic system with multiple scales corresponding to the lengths of the bonds. For graph Laplacians we briefly report results for the spectral determinant, vacuum energy and heat kernel asymptotics of general graphs in terms of the vertex matching conditions.

math-ph↗
arXiv2009

Vacuum Stress and Closed Paths in Rectangles, Pistons, and Pistols

Rectangular cavities are solvable models that nevertheless touch on many of the controversial or mysterious aspects of the vacuum energy of quantum fields. This paper is a thorough study of the two-dimensional scalar field in a rectangle by the method of images, or closed classical (or optical) paths, which is exact in this case. For each point r and each specularly reflecting path beginning and ending at r, we provide formulas for all components of the stress tensor T_{μν}(r), for all values of the curvature coupling constant ξand all values of an ultraviolet cutoff parameter. Arbitrary combinations of Dirichlet and Neumann conditions on the four sides can be treated. The total energy is also investigated, path by path. These results are used in an attempt to clarify the physical reality of the repulsive (outward) force on the sides of the box predicted by calculations that neglect both boundary divergences and the exterior of the box. Previous authors have studied "piston" geometries that avoid these problems and have found the force to be attractive. We consider a "pistol" geometry that comes closer to the original problem of a box with a movable lid. We find again an attractive force, although its origin and detailed behavior are somewhat different from the piston case. However, the pistol (and the piston) model can be criticized for extending idealized boundary conditions into short distances where they are physically implausible. Therefore, it is of interest to see whether leaving the ultraviolet cutoff finite yields results that are more plausible. We then find that the force depends strongly on a geometrical parameter; it can be made repulsive, but only by forcing that parameter into the regime where the model is least convincing physically.

hep-th↗
arXiv2008

Heat trace asymptotics with singular weight functions

We study the weighted heat trace asymptotics of an operator of Laplace type with Dirichlet boundary conditions where the weight function exhibits radial blowup. We give formulas for the first few terms in the expansion in terms of geometrical data.

math.AP↗
arXiv2006

Local and Global Casimir Energies in a Green's Function Approach

The effects of quantum fluctuations in fields confined by background configurations may be simply and transparently computed using the Green's function approach pioneered by Schwinger. Not only can total energies and surface forces be computed in this way, but local energy densities, and in general, all components of the vacuum expectation value of the energy-momentum tensor may be calculated. For simple geometries this approach may be carried out exactly, which yields insight into what happens in less tractable situations. In this talk I will concentrate on the example of a scalar field in a circular cylindrical delta-function background. This situation is quite similar to that of a spherical delta-function background. The local energy density in these cases diverges as the surface of the background is approached, but these divergences are integrable. The total energy is finite in strong coupling, but in weak coupling a divergence occurs in third order. This universal feature is shown to reflect a divergence in the energy associated with the surface, the integrated local energy density within the shell itself, which surface energy should be removable by a process of renormalization.

hep-th↗
arXiv2006

Spectral asymmetry on the ball and asymptotics of the asymmetry kernel

Let $\ui\di$ be the Dirac operator on a $D=2d$ dimensional ball $\mcB$ with radius $R$. We calculate the spectral asymmetry $η(0,\ui\di)$ for D=2 and D=4, when local chiral bag boundary conditions are imposed. With these boundary conditions, we also analyze the small-$t$ asymptotics of the heat trace $\Tr (F P e^{-t P^2})$ where $P$ is an operator of Dirac type and $F$ is an auxiliary smooth smearing function.

hep-th↗
arXiv2005

Eta invariants with spectral boundary conditions

We study the asymptotics of the heat trace $\Tr\{fPe^{-tP^2}\}$ where $P$ is an operator of Dirac type, where $f$ is an auxiliary smooth smearing function which is used to localize the problem, and where we impose spectral boundary conditions. Using functorial techniques and special case calculations, the boundary part of the leading coefficients in the asymptotic expansion is found.

math-ph↗