Casimir effect for scalar fields under Robin boundary conditions on plates (Q4533465)

The authors treat a massless scalar field \(\phi\) with general curvature coupling \(\xi\) on the background of a \(D\)-dimensional space-time manifold \(M\). The action is expressed by \[ S[\phi, g]= -\int_M d^Dx(-g)^{1/2} \phi[\square+ \xi R] \phi/2. \] \(\xi= \xi_c\equiv (D-1)^{-1}(D- 2)/4\) under the conformal invariance. They study the fields \(\phi\) on the flat space-time satisfying the following boundary conditions: (I) \((1+ \beta_1\partial_x) \phi(t, x)= 0\), \(x= 0\), (II) \((1+\beta_m(-1)^{m- 1}\partial_x) \phi= 0\), \(x= a_m\), \(m= 1\), \(a= a_2- a_1\). The vacuum expectation values for the energy momentum tensor have the form \[ \langle 0|T^k_1|0\rangle= \text{diag}(\varepsilon,-p, -p_\perp,\dots, p_\perp). \] Here \(\varepsilon\): energy density, and \((p,p_\perp)\): pressure perpendicular and parallel to the plates' direction. They calculate numerically regularized Casimir energy density \((\langle 0|T_{00}|0\rangle- \langle 0_M|T_{00}|0_M\rangle)(x)\). \(|\beta_1|^D/(\xi- \xi_c)\) in (I) as a function of \(y= 2x/\beta_1\), by making use of the Abel-Plana formula, and Casimir force per unit surface \(10^4 \beta^4_2\cdot \text{reg }p\) in (II) as a function of \(a/\beta_2\) for \(\beta_1= 0\), etc. A decomposition of the total Casimir energy into volumic and superficial contributions is found in the case (II).