Quantum field theory in curved spacetime, the operator product expansion, and dark energy

DOI10.1007/S10714-008-0672-YzbMATH Open1152.83363arXiv0805.3419OpenAlexW3101502307MaRDI QIDQ960087FDOQ960087

Authors: Stefan Hollands, Robert M. Wald 

Publication date: 16 December 2008

Published in: General Relativity and Gravitation (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: To make sense of quantum field theory in an arbitrary (globally hyperbolic) curved spacetime, the theory must be formulated in a local and covariant manner in terms of locally measureable field observables. Since a generic curved spacetime does not possess symmetries or a unique notion of a vacuum state, the theory also must be formulated in a manner that does not require symmetries or a preferred notion of a ``vacuum state and ``particles. We propose such a formulation of quantum field theory, wherein the operator product expansion (OPE) of the quantum fields is elevated to a fundamental status, and the quantum field theory is viewed as being defined by its OPE. Since the OPE coefficients may be better behaved than any quantities having to do with states, we suggest that it may be possible to perturbatively construct the OPE coefficients--and, thus, the quantum field theory. By contrast, ground/vacuum states--in spacetimes, such as Minkowski spacetime, where they may be defined--cannot vary analytically with the parameters of the theory. We argue that this implies that composite fields may acquire nonvanishing vacuum state expectation values due to nonperturbative effects. We speculate that this could account for the existence of a nonvanishing vacuum expectation value of the stress-energy tensor of a quantum field occurring at a scale much smaller than the natural scales of the theory.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/0805.3419

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zbMATH Keywords

dark energyoperator product expansionquantum field theorycurved spacetimes

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Methods of quantum field theory in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C47) Relativistic cosmology (83F05)

Cites Work

• The generally covariant locality principle -- a new paradigm for local quantum field theory
• Existence of local covariant time ordered products of quantum fields in curved spacetime
• Local Wick polynomials and time ordered products of quantum fields in curved spacetime
• Microlocal analysis and interacting quantum field theories: renormalization on physical back\-grounds.
• The operator product expansion for perturbative quantum field theory in curved spacetime
• The microlocal spectrum condition and Wick polynomials of free fields on curved spacetimes
• Axiomatic quantum field theory in curved spacetime
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Cited In (10)

• Associativity of the operator product expansion
• Operator product expansion of inflationary correlators and conformal symmetry of de Sitter
• On the power-counting renormalizability of a Lifshitz-type QFT in configuration space
• The operator product expansion for perturbative quantum field theory in curved spacetime
• PCT theorem for the operator product expansion in curved spacetime
• Emergent gravity as the eraser of anomalous gauge boson masses, and QFT-GR concord
• Axiomatic quantum field theory in curved spacetime
• Local and covariant flow relations for OPE coefficients in Lorentzian spacetimes
• Euclidean configuration space renormalization, residues and dilation anomaly
• String theory as a theory of quantum gravity: a status report

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