Applying the general framework for local zeta regularization proposed in Part I of this series of papers, we compute the renormalized vacuum expectation value of several observables (in particular, of the stress-energy tensor and of the total energy)
for a massless scalar field confined within a rectangular box of arbitrary dimension.
Applying the general framework for local zeta regularization proposed in Part I of this series of papers, we renormalize the vacuum expectation value of the stress-energy tensor (and of the total energy) for a scalar field in presence of an external harmonic potential.
In Part I of this series of papers we have described a general formalism to compute the vacuum effects of a scalar field via local (or global) zeta regularization. In the present Part II we exemplify the general formalism in a number of cases which c
an be solved explicitly by analytical means. More in detail we deal with configurations involving parallel or perpendicular planes and we also discuss the case of a three-dimensional wedge.
This is the first one of a series of papers about zeta regularization of the divergences appearing in the vacuum expectation value (VEV) of several local and global observables in quantum field theory. More precisely we consider a quantized, neutral
scalar field on a domain in any spatial dimension, with arbitrary boundary conditions and, possibly, in presence of an external classical potential. We analyze, in particular, the VEV of the stress-energy tensor, the corresponding boundary forces and the total energy, thus taking into account both local and global aspects of the Casimir effect. In comparison with the wide existing literature on these subjects, we try to develop a more systematic approach, allowing to treat specific configurations by mere application of a general machinery. The present Part I is mainly devoted to setting up this general framework; at the end of the paper, this is exemplified in a very simple case. In Parts II, III and IV we will consider more engaging applications, indicated in the Introduction of the present work.
The main result of [C. Morosi and L. Pizzocchero, Nonlinear Analysis, 2012] is presented in a variant, based on a C^infinity formulation of the Cauchy problem; in this approach, the a posteriori analysis of an approximate solution gives a bound on th
e Sobolev distance of any order between the exact and the approximate solution.
We consider the Cauchy problem for the incompressible homogeneous Navier-Stokes (NS) equations on a d-dimensional torus, in the C^infinity formulation described, e.g., in [25]. In [22][25] it was shown how to obtain quantitative estimates on the exac
t solution of the NS Cauchy problem via the a posteriori analysis of an approximate solution; such estimates concern the interval of existence of the exact solution and its distance from the approximate solution. In the present paper we consider an approximate solutions of the NS Cauchy problem having the form u^N(t) = sum_{j=0}^N R^j u_j(t), where R is the mathematical Reynolds number (the reciprocal of the kinematic viscosity) and the coefficients u_j(t) are determined stipulating that the NS equations be satisfied up to an error O(R^{N+1}). This subject was already treated in [24], where, as an application, the Reynolds expansion of order N=5 in dimension d=3 was considered for the initial datum of Behr-Necas-Wu (BNW). In the present paper, these results are enriched regarding both the theoretical analysis and the applications. Concerning the theoretical aspect, we refine the approach of [24] following [25] and use the symmetries of the initial datum in building up the expansion. Concerning the applicative aspect we consider two more (d=3) initial data, namely, the vortices of Taylor-Green (TG) and Kida-Murakami (KM); the Reynolds expansions for the BNW, TG and KM data are performed via a Python program, attaining orders between N=12 and N=20. Our a posteriori analysis proves, amongst else, that the solution of the NS equations with anyone of the above three data is global if R is below an explicitly computed critical value. Our critical Reynolds numbers are below the ones characterizing the turbulent regime; however these bounds have a sound theoretical support, are fully quantitative and improve previous results of global existence.
In this paper, whose aims are mainly pedagogical, we illustrate how to use the local zeta regularization to compute the stress-energy tensor of the Casimir effect. Our attention is devoted to the case of a neutral, massless scalar field in flat space
-time, on a space domain with suitable (e.g., Dirichlet) boundary conditions. After a simple outline of the local zeta method, we exemplify it in the typical case of a field between two parallel plates, or outside them. The results are shown to agree with the ones obtained by more popular methods, such as point splitting regularization. In comparison with these alternative methods, local zeta regularization has the advantage to give directly finite results via analitic continuation, with no need to remove or subtract divergent quantities.
