Cambridge University Press

978-0-521-87787-9 - Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime: Quantized Fields and Gravity
Leonard E. Parker and David J. Toms
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QUANTUM FIELD THEORY IN CURVED SPACETIME

Quantum field theory in curved spacetime has been remarkably fruitful. It can be
used to explain how the large-scale structure of the universe and the anisotropies
of the cosmic background radiation that we observe today first arose. Simi-
larly, it provides a deep connection between general relativity, thermodynamics,
and quantum field theory. This book develops quantum field theory in curved
spacetime in a pedagogical style, suitable for graduate students.
The authors present detailed, physically motivated derivations of cosmologi-
cal and black hole processes in which curved spacetime plays a key role. They
explain how such processes in the rapidly expanding early universe leave observ-
able consequences today, and how, in the context of evaporating black holes,
these processes uncover deep connections between gravitation and elementary
particles. The authors also lucidly describe many other aspects of free and inter-
acting quantized fields in curved spacetime.

L e on a r d E. P ar ke r is Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Physics

Department at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. In the 1960s, he was
the first to use quantum field theory to show that the gravitational field of the
expanding universe creates elementary particles from the vacuum.
Da v i d J. Toms is Reader in Mathematical Physics in the School of Math-
ematics and Statistics at Newcastle University. His research interests include
the formalism of quantum field theory and its applications, and his most recent
interests involve the use of quantum field theory methods in low energy quantum
gravity.

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Leonard E. Parker and David J. Toms
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CAMBRIDGE MONOGRAPHS ON MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS

General Editors: P. V. Landshoff, D. R. Nelson, S. Weinberg

S. J. Aarseth Gravitational N-Body Simulations: Tools and Algorithms

J. Ambjørn, B. Durhuus and T. Jonsson Quantum Geometry: A Statistical Field Theory
Approach
A. M. Anile Relativistic Fluids and Magneto-fluids: With Applications in Astrophysics and
Plasma Physics
J. A. de Azcárraga and J. M. Izquierdo Lie Groups, Lie Algebras, Cohomology and Some
Applications in Physics †
O. Babelon, D. Bernard and M. Talon Introduction to Classical Integrable Systems †
F. Bastianelli and P. van Nieuwenhuizen Path Integrals and Anomalies in Curved Space
V. Belinski and E. Verdaguer Gravitational Solitons
J. Bernstein Kinetic Theory in the Expanding Universe
G. F. Bertsch and R. A. Broglia Oscillations in Finite Quantum Systems
N. D. Birrell and P. C. W. Davies Quantum Fields in Curved Space †
M. Burgess Classical Covariant Fields
E. A. Calzetta and B.-L. B. Hu Nonequilibrium Quantum Field Theory
S. Carlip Quantum Gravity in 2+1 Dimensions †
P. Cartier and C. DeWitt-Morette Functional Integration: Action and Symmetries
J. C. Collins Renormalization: An Introduction to Renormalization, the Renormalization Group
and the Operator-Product Expansion †
M. Creutz Quarks, Gluons and Lattices †
P. D. D’Eath Supersymmetric Quantum Cosmology
F. de Felice and C. J. S. Clarke Relativity on Curved Manifolds
B. DeWitt Supermanifolds, 2nd edition†
P. G. O Freund Introduction to Supersymmetry †
J. A. Fuchs Affine Lie Algebras and Quantum Groups: An Introduction, with Applications in
Conformal Field Theory †
J. Fuchs and C. Schweigert Symmetries, Lie Algebras and Representations: A Graduate Course
for Physicists †
Y. Fujii and K. Maeda The Scalar-Tensor Theory of Gravitation
A. S. Galperin, E. A. Ivanov, V. I. Orievetsky and E. S. Sokatchev Harmonic Superspace
R. Gambini and J. Pullin Loops, Knots, Gauge Theories and Quantum Gravity †
T. Gannon Moonshine beyond the Monster: The Bridge Connecting Algebra, Modular Forms and
Physics
M. Göckeler and T. Schücker Differential Geometry, Gauge Theories and Gravity †
C. Gómez, M. Ruiz-Altaba and G. Sierra Quantum Groups in Two-Dimensional Physics
M. B. Green, J. H. Schwarz and E. Witten Superstring Theory Volume 1: Introduction †
M. B. Green, J. H. Schwarz and E. Witten Superstring Theory Volume 2: Loop Amplitudes,
Anomalies and Phenomenology †
V. N. Gribov The Theory of Complex Angular Momenta: Gribov Lectures on Theoretical Physics
S. W. Hawking and G. F. R. Ellis The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time †
F. Iachello and A. Arima The Interacting Boson Model
F. Iachello and P. van Isacker The Interacting Boson-Fermion Model
C. Itzykson and J. M. Drouffe Statistical Field Theory Volume 1: From Brownian Motion to
Renormalization and Lattice Gauge Theory †
C. Itzykson and J. M. Drouffe Statistical Field Theory Volume 2: Strong Coupling, Monte Carlo
Methods, Conformal Field Theory and Random Systems †
C. V. Johnson D-Branes †
P. S. Joshi Gravitational Collapse and Spacetime Singularities
J. I. Kapusta and C. Gale Finite-Temperature Field Theory: Principles and Applications, 2nd
edition
V. E. Korepin, N. M. Bogoliubov and A. G. Izergin Quantum Inverse Scattering Method and
Correlation Functions †
M. Le Bellac Thermal Field Theory †
Y. Makeenko Methods of Contemporary Gauge Theory
N. Manton and P. Sutcliffe Topological Solitons †
N. H. March Liquid Metals: Concepts and Theory
I. Montvay and G. Münster Quantum Fields on a Lattice †
L. O’Raifeartaigh Group Structure of Gauge Theories †
T. Ortín Gravity and Strings †
A. M. Ozorio de Almeida Hamiltonian Systems: Chaos and Quantization †
L. E. Parker and D. J. Toms Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime: Quantized Fields and
Gravity
R. Penrose and W. Rindler Spinors and Space-Time Volume 1: Two-Spinor Calculus and
Relativistic Fields †

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Leonard E. Parker and David J. Toms
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R. Penrose and W. Rindler Spinors and Space-Time Volume 2: Spinor and Twistor Methods in
Space-Time Geometry †
S. Pokorski Gauge Field Theories, 2nd edition†
J. Polchinski String Theory Volume 1: An Introduction to the Bosonic String
J. Polchinski String Theory Volume 2: Superstring Theory and Beyond
V. N. Popov Functional Integrals and Collective Excitations †
R. J. Rivers Path Integral Methods in Quantum Field Theory †
R. G. Roberts The Structure of the Proton: Deep Inelastic Scattering †
C. Rovelli Quantum Gravity †
W. C. Saslaw Gravitational Physics of Stellar and Galactic Systems †
H. Stephani, D. Kramer, M. MacCallum, C. Hoenselaers and E. Herlt Exact Solutions of Einstein’s
Field Equations, 2nd edition
J. Stewart Advanced General Relativity †
T. Thiemann Modern Canonical Quantum General Relativity
D. J. Toms The Schwinger Action Principle and Effective Action
A. Vilenkin and E. P. S. Shellard Cosmic Strings and Other Topological Defects †
R. S. Ward and R. O. Wells, Jr Twistor Geometry and Field Theory †
J. R. Wilson and G. J. Mathews Relativistic Numerical Hydrodynamics
†
Issued as a paperback

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978-0-521-87787-9 - Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime: Quantized Fields and Gravity
Leonard E. Parker and David J. Toms
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Quantum Field Theory in

Curved Spacetime
Quantized Fields and Gravity

LEONARD E. PARKER
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

DAVID J. TOMS
University of Newcastle upon Tyne

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978-0-521-87787-9 - Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime: Quantized Fields and Gravity
Leonard E. Parker and David J. Toms
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cambridge university press

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The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK

Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521877879

c L. E. Parker and D. J. Toms 2009

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception

and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2009

Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge

A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data

Parker, Leonard Emanuel, 1938–
Quantum field theory in curved spacetime : quantized fields and gravity /
Leonard E. Parker, David J. Toms.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Quantum field theory. 2. Space and time. 3. Particles (Nuclear physics)
4. Relativity (Physics) I. Toms, David J., 1953– II. Title.
QC174.45.P367 2009
530.14′ 3–dc22
2008051193

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978-0-521-87787-9 - Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime: Quantized Fields and Gravity
Leonard E. Parker and David J. Toms
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Contents

Preface page xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Conventions and notation xv

1 Quantum fields in Minkowski spacetime 1

1.1 Canonical formulation 2
1.2 Particles 13
1.3 Vacuum energy 21
1.4 Charged scalar field 24
1.5 Dirac field 27
1.6 Angular momentum and spin 32

2 Basics of quantum fields in curved spacetimes 36

2.1 Canonical quantization and conservation laws 37
2.2 Scalar field 43
2.3 Cosmological model: Arbitrary asymptotically static time
dependence 47
2.4 Particle creation in a dynamic universe 51
2.5 Statistics from dynamics: Spin-0 54
2.6 Conformally invariant non-interacting field 56
2.7 Probability distribution of created particles 58
2.8 Exact solution with particle creation 61
2.9 High-frequency blackbody distribution 63
2.10 de Sitter spacetime 64
2.11 Quantum fluctuations and early inflation 73
2.12 Quantizing the inflaton field perturbations 77
2.13 A word on interacting quantized fields and on algebraic quantum
field theory in curved spacetime 88
2.14 Accelerated detector in Minkowski spacetime 91

3 Expectation values quadratic in fields 93

3.1 Adiabatic subtraction and physical quantities 93
3.2 Energy-momentum tensor from trace anomaly 107
3.3 Renormalization in general spacetimes 110
3.4 Gaussian approximation to propagator 115

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viii Contents

3.5 Approximate energy-momentum tensor in Schwarzschild,

de Sitter, and other static Einstein spacetimes 118
3.6 R-summed form of propagator 129
3.7 R-summed action and cosmic acceleration 131
3.8 Normal coordinate momentum space 134
3.9 Chiral current anomaly caused by spacetime curvature 144

4 Particle creation by black holes 152

4.1 Introduction 152
4.2 Classical considerations 153
4.3 Quantum aspects 162
4.4 Energy-momentum tensor with Hawking flux 174
4.5 Back reaction to black hole evaporation 178
4.6 Trans-Planckian physics in Hawking radiation and
cosmology 180
4.7 Further topics: Closed timelike curves; closed-time-path
integral 182

5 The one-loop effective action 184

5.1 Introduction 184
5.2 Preliminary definition of the effective action 185
5.3 Regularization of the effective action 190
5.4 Effective action for scalar fields: Some examples 200
5.5 The conformal anomaly and the functional integral 216
5.6 Spinors in curved spacetime 221
5.7 The effective action for spinor fields 245
5.8 Application of the effective action for spinor fields 253
5.9 The axial, or chiral, anomaly 257

6 The effective action: Non-gauge theories 268

6.1 Introduction 268
6.2 The Schwinger action principle 271
6.3 The Feynman path integral 277
6.4 The effective action 280
6.5 The geometrical effective action 283
6.6 Perturbative expansion of the effective action 295
6.7 Renormalization of an interacting scalar field theory 302
6.8 The renormalization group and the effective action 318
6.9 The effective potential 322
6.10 The renormalization of the non-linear sigma model 331
6.11 Formal properties of the effective action 337
Appendix 344

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978-0-521-87787-9 - Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime: Quantized Fields and Gravity
Leonard E. Parker and David J. Toms
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Contents ix

7 The effective action: Gauge theories 348

7.1 Introduction 348
7.2 Gauge transformations 350
7.3 The orbit space and the gauge condition 359
7.4 Field space reparameterization and the Killing equation 368
7.5 The connection and its consequences 375
7.6 The functional measure for gauge theories 385
7.7 Gauge-invariant effective action 390
7.8 Yang–Mills theory, concluded 399
7.9 Scalar quantum electrodynamics 407
Appendix 420

Appendix: Quantized Inflaton Perturbations 422

References 426
Index 445

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978-0-521-87787-9 - Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime: Quantized Fields and Gravity
Leonard E. Parker and David J. Toms
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Preface

The success of Einstein’s theory of general relativity convincingly demonstrates

that the classical gravitational field is a manifestation of the curvature of
spacetime. Similarly, quantum field theory in Minkowski spacetime successfully
describes the behavior of elementary particles over a wide range of energies. It
has proved notoriously difficult to understand how gravity fits with the quantum
attribute of the fields that transmit the other forces of nature. Leading attempts
to combine gravitation and quantum field theory include string theory and loop
quantum gravity. String theory attempts to describe elementary particles, includ-
ing the graviton, as quantized excitations of systems of strings and D-branes in a
higher-dimensional space. Loop quantum gravity attempts to describe the struc-
ture of spacetime itself in terms of quantized loops. At energies much below the
Planck scale, these theories reduce to descriptions of quantized fields propagating
in a curved spacetime having a metric described by Einstein’s gravitational field
equations with additional higher-order curvature corrections.
Quantum field theory in curved spacetime is the framework for describing
elementary particles and gravitation at energies below the Planck scale. This
theory has had striking successes. It has shown how gravitation and quantum
field theory are intimately connected to give a consistent description of black
holes having entropy and satisfying the second law of thermodynamics; and it
has shown how the inhomogeneities and anisotropies we observe today in the
cosmic microwave background and in the large-scale structure of the universe
were created in a brief stage of very rapid expansion of the universe, known as
inflation.
This book should give the reader a deep understanding of the principles of
quantum field theory in curved spacetime and of their applications to the early
universe, renormalization, black holes, and effective action methods for interact-
ing fields in curved spacetime, including gauge fields. It is aimed at graduate
students and researchers and would be appropriate as the basis for a graduate
course. We have tried to be pedagogical in our presentation.
If the students have had an introduction to quantum field theory in Minkowski
spacetime, then Chapter 1 could be skipped and returned to only when particular
topics are unfamiliar. In that case, the instructor can expect to finish Chapters
2 through 5 in a one-semester course, depending on how much detail is covered.
Particle creation by the expansion of the universe and by black holes would be
covered in such a course. In a two-semester course, the instructor can expect to

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xii Preface

go through the whole book, including renormalization of interacting fields, the

renormalization group, and the effective action for Yang–Mills fields in curved
spacetime.
We expect the reader to have some understanding of general relativity, at least
at the introductory level. The books by Hartle (2003), Misner et al. (1973), Wald
(1984), or Weinberg (1972) provide more than sufficient background on gen-
eral relativity. For additional related material on quantum field theory in curved
spacetime, we recommend that the reader consult the outstandingly comprehen-
sive treatment of the subject by Birrell and Davies (1982), and the books by
Fulling (1989) and Wald (1994).

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Acknowledgments

Leonard E. Parker is grateful to the late Sidney Coleman. He supervised my PhD

thesis at Harvard from 1962 through 1965, in which I used quantum field the-
ory to discover and thoroughly investigate the creation of elementary particles
by the gravitational field of the expanding universe, including the role of con-
formal invariance and other aspects of this fundamentally important process. I
am grateful as well to Steven A. Fulling, Lawrence H. Ford, Timothy S. Bunch,
and my coauthor David J. Toms, who were my postdoctoral associates from 1973
through the early 1980s. Their work helped push the boundaries of quantum
field theory in curved spacetime into new and fruitful territory. It is with plea-
sure that I thank as well my other postdoctoral associates, including the late
Chaim Charach, Ian Jack, Atshushi Higuchi, Jonathan Z. Simon, Jorma Louko,
Yoav Peleg, Alpan Raval, Daniel A. T. Vanzella, and Gonzalo J. Olmo. It was
a privilege to work with these truly outstanding researchers. Among my other
collaborators on topics involving quantum field theory in curved spacetime, I give
special thanks to Paul Anderson, Jacob D. Bekenstein, Robert Caldwell, Bei-Lok
Hu, and José Navarro-Salas. The PhD students who worked with me on topics
related to quantum field theory in curved spacetime are Prakash Panangaden,
Luis O. Pimentel, Todd K. Leen, Esteban Calzetta, Yang Zhang, Sukanta Bose,
Gerald Graef, William Komp, and Laura Mersini. Matthew Glenz, one of my
current PhD students, carefully read chapters 1 through 4 and pointed out many
misprints and unclear passages. I am grateful to my former postdoctoral associate
Alpan Raval for helping with the writing of Sections 3.5, 4.4, and 4.5. I thank
the US National Science Foundation for supporting my research on quantized
fields, gravitation, and cosmology for more than 35 years. This support was of
great help. Above all, I thank my wife, Gloria, and children, David, Michael, and
Deborah, for their support and encouragement during the writing of this book.
David Toms would like, first of all, to express his gratitude to R. C. Roeder,
who first suggested to him that quantum field theory in curved spacetime would
make a good topic for a PhD thesis, and to P. J. O’Donnell who supervised his
PhD studies and gave him free rein to follow his interests, along with some good
advice. While a postgraduate student at the University of Toronto I benefitted
greatly from discussions with C. C. Dyer and E. Honig. The Natural Sciences
and Engineering Research Council of Canada sponsored my first postdoctoral
fellowship at Imperial College, London. While there I profited from interactions
with M. J. Duff, L. H. Ford, C. J. Isham, G. Kunstatter, and M. Pilati. My first

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978-0-521-87787-9 - Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime: Quantized Fields and Gravity
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xiv Acknowledgments

encounter with my coauthor, Leonard E. Parker, was as a postdoctoral associate

at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee where we established a fruitful col-
laboration that led eventually to this book. I am also grateful to J. Friedman and
D. M. Witt for valuable discussions while I was in Milwaukee. My colleagues at
Newcastle deserve thanks, especially P. C. W. Davies and I. G. Moss. I would like
to acknowledge my collaborators not previously mentioned, J. Balakrishnan, K.
Kirsten, and H. P. Leivo, for their assistance. I have had a number of postgrad-
uate students who worked with me on aspects of quantum field theory among
whom are M. Burgess, E. J. Copeland, P. Ellicott, A. Flachi, S. R. Huggins, G.
Huish, and I. Russell. P. McKay pointed out some misprints in Chapter 7. While
at Newcastle I have received funding from the Sciences and Engineering Research
Council and the Nuffield Foundation. My wife Linda was very understanding and
supportive during the many hours taken to write this book – I express my love
and gratitude for this.
Both authors are extremely grateful to Bei-Lok Hu for his advice through the
years, and his comments on an early version of the manuscript.

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Leonard E. Parker and David J. Toms
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Conventions and notation

We have tried to maintain consistency between our book and that of Birrell and
Davies (1982) wherever possible. Our sign conventions are (−−−) in the notation
of Misner et al. (1973). More explicitly, an outline of our basic notation is the
following:
• ℜ and ℑ denote the real and imaginary parts of any expression;
• divp denotes the divergent part (pole part if dimensional regularization is
used);
• we use units with c =
= 1, and often G = 1;
• spacetime dimension is n in general, often with n = 4;
• Minkowski metric: ηµν is diagonal with eigenvalues (+1, −1, . . . , −1);
• ordinary partial derivative of ψ denoted by ∂µ ψ or ψ,µ ;
• curved spacetime metric: gµν with inverse metric g µν ;
• invariant volume element: dvx = |det(gµν )|1/2 dn x;
• Christoffel connection: Γλµν = Γλνµ = 21 g λσ (gσν,µ + gµσ,ν − gµν,σ );
• covariant derivative of ψ denoted by ∇µ ψ or ψ;µ ;
• d’Alembertian, or wave, operator:
= ∇µ ∇µ ;
• Riemann tensor: Rλ τ µν = Γλτµ,ν − Γλτν,µ + Γλνσ Γστµ − Γλµσ Γστν ;
• Ricci tensor: Rµν = Rλ µλν ;
• Dirac matrices in flat spacetime follow Bjorken and Drell (1964). (See Chapter
5 for a complete discussion.)
Other notation is introduced as needed.

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