Surface vacuum energy and stresses on a plate uniformly accelerated through the Fulling-Rindler vacuum

TL;DR

This paper calculates the vacuum-induced surface energy-momentum tensor for a scalar field on an accelerating plate, revealing a connection to a cosmological constant-like effect induced by quantum vacuum fluctuations.

Contribution

It provides analytic expressions for surface energies on both sides of an accelerating plate in the Fulling-Rindler vacuum using zeta function techniques.

Findings

Surface energies contain pole and finite parts.

Vacuum effects induce a cosmological constant-like tensor.

Results depend on the proper acceleration of the plate.

Abstract

The vacuum expectation value of the surface energy-momentum tensor is evaluated for a massless scalar field obeying mixed boundary condition on an infinite plate moving by uniform proper acceleration through the Fulling-Rindler vacuum. The generalized zeta function technique is used, in combination with the contour integral representation. The surface energies for separate regions on the left and on the right of the plate contain pole and finite contributions. Analytic expressions for both these contributions are derived. For a minimally coupled scalar the surface energy-momentum tensor induced by vacuum quantum effects corresponds to a source of the cosmological constant type located on the plate and with the cosmological constant determined by the proper acceleration of the plate.