Reconsidering the Vacuum Energy of a Massive Scalar Field in a Spherical Cavity
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: We reconsider the vacuum (Casimir) energy of a massive scalar field obeying Dirichlet boundary conditions inside a spherical cavity. Using zeta-function regularization, we carefully recalculate the analytic part of the zeta function via the uniform asymptotic expansion of the modified Bessel functions. We correct a sign error present in an earlier calculation that affected the large-mass behavior. The renormalized vacuum energy is shown to vanish as m→∞, as required on physical grounds. Numerical results reveal that the energy changes sign several times as a function of the cavity radius.
Source: Physics
Authors: Michael Bordag, Irina G. Pirozhenko
Institutions: Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Leipzig University
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,689
OpenAlex ID: W7215106512