113 research outputs found
Instabilities and the null energy condition
We show that violation of the null energy condition implies instability in a
broad class of models, including classical gauge theories with scalar and
fermionic matter as well as any perfect fluid. When applied to the dark energy,
our results imply that is unlikely to be less than -1.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, revtex, presentation improved, minor change
Quantum effects can render w<-1 on cosmological scales
We report on a revision of our previous computation of the renormalized
expectation value of the stress-energy tensor of a massless, minimally coupled
scalar with a quartic self-interaction on a locally de Sitter background. This
model is important because it demonstrates that quantum effects can lead to
violations of the weak energy condition on cosmological scales - on average,
not just in fluctuations - although the effect in this particular model is far
too small to be observed. The revision consists of modifying the propagator so
that dimensional regularization can be used when the dimension of the
renormalized theory is not four. Although the finite part of the stress-energy
tensor does not change (in D=4) from our previous result, the counterterms do.
We also speculate that a certain, finite and separately conserved part of the
stress tensor can be subsumed into a natural correction of the initial state
from free Bunch-Davies vacuum.Comment: 9 pages, references adde
Nonperturbative infrared effects for light scalar fields in de Sitter space
We study the phi^4 scalar field theory in de Sitter space using the 2PI
effective action formalism. This formalism enables us to investigate the
nonperturbative quantum effects. We use the mean field and gap equations and
calculate the physical mass and effective potential. We find that
nonperturbative infrared effects on de Sitter space produce a curvature-induced
mass and work to restore the broken Z_2 symmetry.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, section 2 revised, discussion in section 4
changed, results not change
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