A Converting momentum sums to integrals in curved spacetime

KariK
Messages
4
Reaction score
2
TL;DR Summary
Is Parker and Toms book wrong calculating number density of particle creation?
I am studying particle pair production using Parker and Toms book: Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime. On page 48 they talk about converting the sum over momentum (k) into an integral. You assume boundary conditions so that k = 2*Pi*n/L, where n is an integer and L is the coordinate length of the cube, the volume of which is L^3. Then on page 60 he derives a formula for the number density of the created particles. There he has the volume as (L*a)^3, with a being the cosmological scale factor. But then in the next line (Equation 2.103) he uses the integral and uses (2*Pi^2*a)^-3 as the factor? (I understand that you get the 4*Pi from the angles integration.) In my mind if the side of the cube is L*a, then k = 2*Pi*n/(L*a), so we have a factor [L*a*dk/(2*Pi)]^3. So the integral in Equation 2.103 should be just (2*Pi)^-3 times the integral. Why do they have the additional a in there? Am I missing something or is the book wrong?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Well, nobody responded to this question and some time ago I understood the issue, so here is the answer for posterity.
If you solve the Klein-Gordon equation for a scalar field, the answer depends on the phase:
Phi = ...*e^(i*k.x)*..., where k is a constant and x is the comoving coordinate. We demand that the phase is the same at opposite edges of the cube, so we indeed get k*L = 2*Pi*n. For density quantities (number or energy) we have to divide by the physical volume (a*L)^3. So indeed we get the factor (2*Pi*a)^-3.
 
I am not sure if this belongs in the biology section, but it appears more of a quantum physics question. Mike Wiest, Associate Professor of Neuroscience at Wellesley College in the US. In 2024 he published the results of an experiment on anaesthesia which purported to point to a role of quantum processes in consciousness; here is a popular exposition: https://neurosciencenews.com/quantum-process-consciousness-27624/ As my expertise in neuroscience doesn't reach up to an ant's ear...
Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. Towards the end of the first lecture for the Qiskit Global Summer School 2025, Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Olivia Lanes (Global Lead, Content and Education IBM) stated... Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/quantum-entanglement-is-a-kinematic-fact-not-a-dynamical-effect/ by @RUTA
I am reading WHAT IS A QUANTUM FIELD THEORY?" A First Introduction for Mathematicians. The author states (2.4 Finite versus Continuous Models) that the use of continuity causes the infinities in QFT: 'Mathematicians are trained to think of physical space as R3. But our continuous model of physical space as R3 is of course an idealization, both at the scale of the very large and at the scale of the very small. This idealization has proved to be very powerful, but in the case of Quantum...
Back
Top