A Lower Bound on the Energy Density in Classical and Quantum Field Theories

Abstract

A novel method for deriving energy conditions in stable field theories is described. In a local classical theory with one spatial dimension, a local energy condition always exists. For a relativistic field theory, one obtains the dominant energy condition. In a quantum field theory, there instead exists a quantum energy condition, i.e. a lower bound on the energy density that depends on information-theoretic quantities. Some extensions to higher dimensions are briefly discussed.