17 research outputs found
Mathematical Aspects of Vacuum Energy on Quantum Graphs
We use quantum graphs as a model to study various mathematical aspects of the
vacuum energy, such as convergence of periodic path expansions, consistency
among different methods (trace formulae versus method of images) and the
possible connection with the underlying classical dynamics.
We derive an expansion for the vacuum energy in terms of periodic paths on
the graph and prove its convergence and smooth dependence on the bond lengths
of the graph. For an important special case of graphs with equal bond lengths,
we derive a simpler explicit formula.
The main results are derived using the trace formula. We also discuss an
alternative approach using the method of images and prove that the results are
consistent. This may have important consequences for other systems, since the
method of images, unlike the trace formula, includes a sum over special
``bounce paths''. We succeed in showing that in our model bounce paths do not
contribute to the vacuum energy. Finally, we discuss the proposed possible link
between the magnitude of the vacuum energy and the type (chaotic vs.
integrable) of the underlying classical dynamics. Within a random matrix model
we calculate the variance of the vacuum energy over several ensembles and find
evidence that the level repulsion leads to suppression of the vacuum energy.Comment: Fixed several typos, explain the use of random matrices in Section