Stochastic Force Due to a Quantum Scalar Field in Minkowski Spacetime

Abstract

A method is presented for computing approximate expressions for the stochastic force term $\xi_{ab}$ which appears in the Einstein-Langevin equation of stochastic gravity. Within this framework, $\xi_{ab}$ is a stochastic tensor field whose probability distribution mimics the probability distribution of the fluctuations of the quantum stress tensor operator; it is defined to be a random tensor field of zero mean whose correlation function is given by the expectation value of the symmetrized two point function of the stress energy fluctuation operator, called the noise kernel. Approximate expressions are obtained by means of a truncated Karhunen-Loeve transform defined on a random lattice of spacetime points. Due to the singular nature of the noise kernel, a coarse graining procedure is used to regulate divergences; as a result, the expressions obtained for $\xi_{ab}$ approximate values which might be seen by a probe measuring fluctuations in the stress energy using a sampling profile of finite width. Two realizations of $\xi_{ab}$ in Minkowski spacetime for the conformally invariant quantum scalar field in the Minkowski vacuum state are presented.