Tunnelling and dynamical violation of the null energy condition

Authors :: Janos Polonyi
Jean Alexandre
Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC)
Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Source :: Physical Review, Physical Review D, Physical Review D, American Physical Society, 2021, 103 (10), pp.105020. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevD.103.105020⟩, Alexandre, J & Polonyi, J 2021, ' Tunnelling and dynamical violation of the Null Energy Condition ', Phys. Rev. D, vol. 103, no. 10, 105020 . https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.103.105020
Publication Year :: 2021
Publisher :: APS, 2021.
Abstract: The Null Energy Condition is considered the most fundamental of the energy conditions, on which several key results, such as the singularity theorems, are based. The Casimir effect is one of the rare equilibrium mechanisms by which it is breached without invoking modified gravity or non-minimal couplings to exotic matter. In this work we propose an independent dynamical mechanism by which it is violated, with the only ingredients being standard (but non-perturbative) QFT and a minimally coupled scalar field in a double-well potential. As for the Casimir effect, we explain why the Averaged Null Energy Condition should not be violated by this mechanism. Nevertheless, the transient behaviour could have profound impacts in Early Universe Cosmology.<br />Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure