Free and self-interacting scalar fields in the presence of conical singularities

TL;DR

This paper investigates how conical singularities affect free and self-interacting scalar fields, focusing on their impact on vacuum energy and effective action using advanced regularization and heat-kernel methods.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of scalar fields near conical singularities, highlighting their influence on quantum energy and effective action calculations.

Findings

Conical singularities significantly modify vacuum energy.

The heat-kernel technique effectively captures singularity effects.

Results are relevant for quantum field theory in curved spaces.

Abstract

Free and self-interacting scalar fields in the presence of conical singularities are analized in some detail. The role of such a kind of singularities on free and vacuum energy and also on the one-loop effective action is pointed out using $\zeta$-function regularization and heat-kernel techniques.