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K. Kirsten

Publications and source records attributed to K. Kirsten.

47 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Casimir energies for massive fields in the bag

The Casimir energy corresponding to a massive scalar field with Dirichlet boundary conditions on a spherical bag is obtained. The field is considered, separately, inside and outside the bag. The renormalization procedure that is necessary to apply in each situation is studied in detail, in particular the differences occurring with respect to the case when the field occupies the whole space. The final result contains several constants that experience renormalization and can be determined only experimentally. The non-trivial finite parts that appear in the massive case are found exactly, providing a precise determination of the complete, renormalized zero-point energy for the first time.

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Heat-kernels and functional determinants on the generalized cone

We consider zeta functions and heat-kernel expansions on the bounded, generalized cone in arbitrary dimensions using an improved calculational technique. The specific case of a global monopole is analysed in detail and some restrictions thereby placed on the $A_{5/2}$ coefficient. The computation of functional determinants is also addressed. General formulas are given and known results are incidentally, and rapidly, reproduced.

hep-th↗

Casimir energy of a massive field in a genus-1 surface

We review the definition of the Casimir energy steming naturally from the concept of functional determinant through the zeta function prescription. This is done by considering the theory at finite temperature and by defining then the Casimir energy as its energy in the limit $T\to 0$. The ambiguity in the coefficient $C_{d/2}$ is understood to be a result of the necessary renormalization of the free energy of the system. Then, as an exact, explicit example never calculated before, the Casimir energy for a massive scalar field living in a general $(1+2)$-dimensional toroidal spacetime (i.e., a general surface of genus one) with flat spatial geometry ---parametrized by the corresponding Teichmüller parameters--- and its precise dependence on these parameters and on the mass of the field is obtained under the form of an analytic function.

hep-th↗

Zeta function determinant of the Laplace operator on the $D$-dimensional ball

We present a direct approach for the calculation of functional determinants of the Laplace operator on balls. Dirichlet and Robin boundary conditions are considered. Using this approach, formulas for any value of the dimension, $D$, of the ball, can be obtained quite easily. Explicit results are presented here for dimensions $D=2,3,4,5$ and $6$.

hep-th↗

Heat-kernel coefficients of the Laplace operator on the D-dimensional ball

We present a very quick and powerful method for the calculation of heat-kernel coefficients. It makes use of rather common ideas, as integral representations of the spectral sum, Mellin transforms, non-trivial commutation of series and integrals and skilful analytic continuation of zeta functions on the complex plane. We apply our method to the case of the heat-kernel expansion of the Laplace operator on a $D$-dimensional ball with either Dirichlet, Neumann or, in general, Robin boundary conditions. The final formulas are quite simple. Using this case as an example, we illustrate in detail our scheme ---which serves for the calculation of an (in principle) arbitrary number of heat-kernel coefficients in any situation when the basis functions are known. We provide a complete list of new results for the coefficients $B_3,...,B_{10}$, corresponding to the $D$-dimensional ball with all the mentioned boundary conditions and $D=3,4,5$.

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Bose-Einstein condensation for interacting scalar fields in curved spacetime

We consider the model of self-interacting complex scalar fields with a rigid gauge invariance under an arbitrary gauge group $G$. In order to analyze the phenomenon of Bose-Einstein condensation finite temperature and the possibility of a finite background charge is included. Different approaches to derive the relevant high-temperature behaviour of the theory are presented.

hep-th↗

Heat-kernel coefficients of the Laplace operator on the 3-dimensional ball

We consider the heat-kernel expansion of the massive Laplace operator on the three dimensional ball with Dirichlet boundary conditions. Using this example, we illustrate a very effective scheme for the calculation of an (in principle) arbitrary number of heat-kernel coefficients for the case where the basis functions are known. New results for the coefficients $B_{\frac 5 2},...,B_5$ are presented.

hep-th↗

Applications of the Mellin-Barnes integral representation

We apply the Mellin-Barnes integral representation to several situations of interest in mathematical-physics. At the purely mathematical level, we derive useful asymptotic expansions of different zeta-functions and partition functions. These results are then employed in different topics of quantum field theory, which include the high-temperature expansion of the free energy of a scalar field in ultrastatic curved spacetime, the asymptotics of the $p$-brane density of states, and an explicit approach to the asymptotics of the determinants that appear in string theory.

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Amplification of the scattering cross section due to non-trivial topology of the spacetime

In previous articles it was demonstrated that the total cross section of the scattering of two light particles (zero modes of the Kaluza-Klein tower) in the six-dimensional $λϕ^{4}$ model differs significantly from the cross section of the same process in the conventional $λϕ^{4}$ theory in four space-time dimensions even for the energies below the threshold of the first heavy particle. Here the analytical structure of the cross section in the same model with torus compactification for arbitrary radii of the two-dimensional torus is studied. Further amplification of the total cross section due to interaction of the scalar field with constant background Abelian gauge potential in the space of extra dimensions is shown.

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On the instability of the vacuum in multidimensional scalar theories

The 1-loop effective potential in a scalar theory with quartic interaction on the space $M^{4} \times T^{n}$ for $n=2$ is calculated and is shown to be unbounded from below. This is an indication of a possible instability of the vacuum of the $λϕ^{4}$ theory on $M^{4}$, when it is regarded as a result of the dimensional reduction of the original six-dimensional model. The issue of stability for other values of the number $n$ of extra dimensions is also discussed.

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