Negative energy enhancement in layered holographic conformal field theories

Using a holographic model, we study quantum field theories with a layer of one CFT surrounded by another CFT, on either a periodic or an infinite direction. We study the vacuum energy density in each CFT as a function of the central charges, the thickness of the layer(s), and the properties of the interfaces between the CFTs. The dual spacetimes in the holographic model include two regions separated by a dynamical interface with some tension. For two or more spatial dimensions, we find that a layer of CFT with more degrees of freedom than the surrounding one can have an anomalously large negative vacuum energy density for certain types of interfaces. The negative energy density (or null-energy density in the direction perpendicular to the interface) becomes arbitrarily large for fixed layer width when the tension of the bulk interface approaches a lower critical value. We argue that in cases where we have large negative energy density, we also have an anomalously high transition temperature to the high-temperature thermal state.

Worldline numerics applied to custom Casimir geometry generates unanticipated intersection with Alcubierre warp metric

While conducting analysis related to a DARPA-funded project to evaluate possible structure of the energy density present in a Casimir cavity as predicted by the dynamic vacuum model, a micro/nano-scale structure has been discovered that predicts negative energy density distribution that closely matches requirements for the Alcubierre metric. The simplest notional geometry being analyzed as part of the DARPA-funded work consists of a standard parallel plate Casimir cavity equipped with pillars arrayed along the cavity mid-plane with the purpose of detecting a transient electric field arising from vacuum polarization conjectured to occur along the midplane of the cavity. An analytic technique called worldline numerics was adapted to numerically assess vacuum response to the custom Casimir cavity, and these numerical analysis results were observed to be qualitatively quite similar to a two-dimensional representation of energy density requirements for the Alcubierre warp metric. Subsequently, a toy model consisting of a 1 $$\upmu $$ μ m diameter sphere centrally located in a 4 $$\upmu $$ μ m diameter cylinder was analyzed to show a three-dimensional Casimir energy density that correlates well with the Alcubierre warp metric requirements. This qualitative correlation would suggest that chip-scale experiments might be explored to attempt to measure tiny signatures illustrative of the presence of the conjectured phenomenon: a real, albeit humble, warp bubble.

String clouds and radiation flows as sources of gravity in static or rotating cylinders

Static and stationary cylindrically symmetric space-times in general relativity are considered, supported by distributions of cosmic strings stretched in the azimuthal ([Formula: see text]), longitudinal ([Formula: see text]) or radial ([Formula: see text]) directions or and by pairs of mutually opposite radiation flows in any of these directions. For such systems, exact solutions are obtained and briefly discussed, except for radial strings (a stationary solution for them is not found); it is shown that static solutions with [Formula: see text]- and [Formula: see text]-directed radiation flows do not exist while for [Formula: see text]-directed strings a solution is only possible with negative energy density. Almost all solutions under discussion contain singularities, and all stationary solutions have regions with closed timelike curves, hence, most probably, only their well-behaved regions admit application to real physical situations.

Rainbow Gravity: Big Bounce in Bianchi Type I Universe

We will examine the Bianchi Type I universe under the Rainbow Gravity formalism and calculate various quantities like the dynamical equation for the energy density and the negative energy density. Finally, we apply the analysis to a specific Rainbow Gravity model.

Free-fall energy density and flux in the Schwarzschild black hole

In the four-dimensional background of Schwarzschild black hole, we investigate the energy densities and fluxes in the freely falling frames for the Boulware, Unruh, and Israel–Hartle–Hawking states. In particular, we study their behaviors near the horizon and asymptotic spatial infinity by using the trace anomaly of a conformally invariant scalar field. In the Boulware state, both the energy density and flux are negative divergent when the observer is dropped at the horizon, and asymptotically vanish. In the Unruh state, the energy density is also negative divergent at the horizon while it is positive finite asymptotically. The flux in the Unruh state is always positive and divergent at the horizon. In the Israel–Hartle–Hawking state, the energy density depends on the angular motion of free fall, and fluxes vanish at the horizon and the spatial infinity. Finally, we discuss the role of the negative energy density near the horizon in the evaporating black hole.

Something special at the event horizon

We revisit the free-fall energy density of scalar fields semiclassically by employing the trace anomaly on a two-dimensional Schwarzschild black hole with respect to various black hole states in order to clarify whether something special at the horizon happens or not. For the Boulware state, the energy density at the horizon is always negative divergent, which is independent of initial free-fall positions. However, in the Unruh state the initial free-fall position is responsible for the energy density at the horizon and there is a critical point to determine the sign of the energy density at the horizon. In particular, a huge negative energy density appears when the freely falling observer is dropped just near the horizon. For the Hartle–Hawking state, it may also be positive or negative depending on the initial free-fall position, but it is always finite. Finally, we discuss physical consequences of these calculations.

Freely falling observer and black hole radiation

We find radiation in an infalling frame and present an explicit analytic evidence of the failure of no drama condition by showing that an infalling observer finds an infinite negative energy density at the event horizon. The negative and positive energy density regions are divided by the newly defined zero-energy curve (ZEC). The evaporating black hole is surrounded by the negative energy which can also be observed in the infalling frame.

k-ESSENCE AND TACHYONS IN BRANEWORLD COSMOLOGY

We investigate a k-essence field localized on the brane evolving linearly with the cosmological time for some kinetic functions and consider the atypical k-essence model for linear and nonlinear k-fields in Friedmann–Robertson–Walker (FRW) cosmology. In the former case the k-field is driven by an inverse quadratic polynomial potential and the solutions exhibit several different behaviors which include expanding, contracting and bouncing universes as well as a model with a finite time span, some of them ending in a big crunch or a big rip. In the latter case we find the potential and show that the atypical k-essence model is dynamically incomplete. Particularly, by selecting the extended tachyonic kinetic functions we analyze the high and low energy limits of our model, obtaining the nearly power-law solution. We introduce a tachyon field with negative energy density and show that the universe evolves between two singularities.