Distributional Modes for Scalar Field Quantization

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new mode-sum formalism for scalar field quantization using distributional modes, which aligns with standard results like the Rindler temperature and can be applied on any Cauchy surface.

Contribution

It presents a novel mode-sum approach based on distributional modes, extending scalar field quantization to more general surfaces and reproducing known thermal effects.

Findings

Reproduces the Rindler temperature result

Modes can be canonically defined on any Cauchy surface

Provides a new formalism for scalar field quantization

Abstract

We propose a mode-sum formalism for the quantization of the scalar field based on distributional modes, which are naturally associated with a slight modification of the standard plane-wave modes. We show that this formalism leads to the standard Rindler temperature result, and that these modes can be canonically defined on any Cauchy surface.