Energy-momentum tensors with worldline numerics

Abstract

We apply the worldline formalism and its numerical Monte-Carlo approach to computations of fluctuation induced energy-momentum tensors. For the case of a fluctuating Dirichlet scalar, we derive explicit worldline expressions for the components of the canonical energy-momentum tensor that are straightforwardly accessible to partly analytical and generally numerical evaluation. We present several simple proof-of-principle examples, demonstrating that efficient numerical evaluation is possible at low cost. Our methods can be applied to an investigation of positive-energy conditions.