Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: We study the effect of boundary conditions on vacuum polarization for charged scalar fields in two space-time dimensions. We find that both Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions lead to screening. In the Dirichlet case, the vacuum polarization charge density vanishes at the boundary, whereas it attains its maximum there for Neumann boundary conditions. At a critical field strength, the vacuum polarization diverges for Neumann boundary conditions, an effect due to the instability of the lowest energy mode in the presence of the external field.
Authors: Jonathan Wernersson, Jochen Zahn
Institution: Leipzig University
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W3091880106