Effects of Curvature-Scalar Coupling on Vacuum Energy in Flat (3+1)-Dimensional Space-Time

Abstract

We investigated how a magnetic topological defect affects the vacuum polarization of a charged massive scalar field in a flat $(3+1)$-dimensional space-time. The defect was modeled as an impenetrable to matter field finite-thickness tube with magnetic flux inside. We implemented the most general form of the Robin boundary condition on the surface of the magnetic tube, which enables a fully general analysis of the problem. We have found that in flat spacetime, the total vacuum energy generated by a magnetic topological defect depends on the curvature $ξ$, except for special cases corresponding to the Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions. By contrast, when Robin's general boundary conditions are imposed, the induced vacuum energy acquires an explicit dependence on the curvature coupling $ξ$, which is significant even in flat space-time. A detailed study of the dependence of the effect on the boundary condition parameter has been carried out. The obtained results highlight the nontrivial role played by boundary conditions in vacuum polarization phenomena.