A global approach with cutoff exponential function, mathematically well defined at the outset, for calculating the Casimir energy: the example of scalar field (Q549046)

Summary: A global approach with cutoff exponential functions is used to obtain the Casimir energy of a massless scalar field in the presence of a spherical shell. The proposed method, mathematically well defined at the outset, makes use of two regulators, one of them to make the sum of the orders of Bessel functions finite and the other to regularize the integral involving the zeros of Bessel function. This procedure ensures a consistent mathematical handling in the calculations of the Casimir energy and allows a major comprehension on the regularization process when nontrivial symmetries are under consideration. In particular, we determine the Casimir energy of a scalar field, showing all kinds of divergences. We consider separately the contributions of the inner and outer regions of a spherical shell and show that the results obtained are in agreement with those known in the literature, and this gives a confirmation for the consistence of the proposed approach. The choice of the scalar field was due to its simplicity in terms of physical quantity spin.