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arXiv:2604.13237

Dynamical Casimir effect in the worldline formulation

C. D. Fosco, B. C. Guntsche

hep-thquant-phSubmitted Apr 14, 2026• Announced Apr 16, 2026• Revised Jul 21, 2026 (v2)
v1 · Apr 14, 2026v2 · Jul 21, 2026v3 · Jul 22, 2026
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Abstract

We evaluate the effective action for the Dynamical Casimir Effect (DCE) for a real scalar field in d+1 dimensions within the worldline formulation of quantum field theory. The scalar field is coupled to a spacetime-dependent mass term, which here plays the role of the moving medium and imposes imperfect boundary conditions on time-dependent surfaces. Expanding in powers of the departure of the geometry from a planar configuration, the worldline path integral factorizes into simpler, lower-dimensional ones. In the limit of a strong coupling to the surface, we recover the Dirichlet result and derive the systematic corrections in inverse powers of the coupling. Finally, we also apply the method to a two-surface configuration.

Journal reference
Phys. Rev. D 114, 025016 (2026)
DOI
10.1103/vn2g-ryw1
Comments
24 pages, 1 figure, LaTeX

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We evaluate the effective action for the Dynamical Casimir Effect (DCE) for a real scalar field in d+1 dimensions within the worldline formulation of quantum field theory. The scalar field is coupled to a spacetime-dependent mass term, which here plays the role of the moving medium and imposes imperfect boundary conditions on time-dependent surfaces. Expanding in powers of the departure of the geometry from a planar configuration, the worldline path integral factorizes into simpler, lower-dimensional ones. In the limit of a strong coupling to the surface, we recover the Dirichlet result and derive the systematic corrections in inverse powers of the coupling. Finally, we also apply the method to a two-surface configuration.
In this paper, we consider a four-dimensional system composed of a mass-dimension-one fermionic field, also known as Elko, interacting with a real scalar field. Our main objective is to analyze the Casimir effects associated with this system, assuming that both the Elko and scalar fields satisfy Dirichlet boundary conditions on two large parallel plates separated by a distance LLL. In this scenario, we calculate the vacuum energy density and its first-order correction in the coupling constants of the theory. Additionally, we consider the mass correction for each field separately, namely the topological mass that arises from the boundary conditions imposed on the fields and which also depends on the coupling constants. To develop this analysis, we use the mathematical formalism known as the effective potential, expressed as a path integral in quantum field theory.
We study the finite-temperature Casimir effect for a massless scalar field confined between two parallel plates in a Schwarzschild-like wormhole spacetime. Imposing Dirichlet boundary conditions, we compute the renormalized Casimir free energy in the comoving frame. We find that the thermal correction to the renormalized Casimir free energy decreases gradually with the temperature and becomes independent of the background geometry in this frame. Thermodynamic quantities derived from the Casimir free energy, namely, the renormalized Casimir entropy, internal energy, and heat capacity at constant volume, exhibit distinct temperature dependence. At low temperatures, all thermodynamic quantities recover the expected behavior, consistent with the fundamental laws of thermodynamics. These results provide a compact framework for analyzing quantum vacuum forces in gravitational backgrounds.
The Casimir force due to thermal fluctuations (or the pseudo-Casimir force) was previously calculated for a perfect Bose gas in the slab geometry for various boundary conditions. The Casimir pressure due to quantum fluctuations in a weakly-interacting dilute Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) confined to a parallel plate geometry was recently calculated for Dirichlet boundary conditions. In this paper we calculate the Casimir energy and pressure due to quantum fluctuations in a zero-temperature homogeneous weakly-interacting dilute BEC confined to a parallel plate geometry with periodic boundary conditions and include higher-order corrections to the leading-order result which we refer to as Bogoliubov corrections. The leading-order term is identified as the Casimir energy of a massless scalar field moving with a wave velocity equal to the speed of sound in the BEC. We then obtain the leading-order Casimir pressure in a general three-dimensional rectangular cavity of arbitrary length and obtain the finite-size correction to the parallel plate scenario.
We investigate the Casimir effect for a massive real scalar field confined between two perfectly reflecting parallel plates in the presence of a position-dependent effective mass, a mechanism for coupling a scalar background to a scalar field. Exact normal modes are obtained by solving the corresponding Klein-Gordon equation, leading to a transverse energy spectrum that exhibits a characteristic Landau-like structure despite the absence of an external magnetic field. Upon quantization of the field, the vacuum energy is evaluated by means of generalized zeta-function regularization together with an appropriate renormalization procedure. The renormalized vacuum energy naturally separates into a Landau-like contribution and an additional term induced by the spatial dependence of the effective mass. We show analytically and numerically that both contributions are exponentially suppressed in the strong-coupling regime. In the opposite limit, the Landau-like contribution smoothly reproduces the standard vacuum energy for a massive scalar field confined between parallel plates, whereas the additional contribution becomes singular owing to the restricted domain of validity of the exact spectrum. Except in the vicinity of this singular limit, the vacuum energy is shown to be dominated by the Landau-like sector. Our results establish a direct connection between position-dependent effective masses and boundary-induced quantum vacuum phenomena, providing a new exactly solvable framework for the investigation of Casimir effects in spatially inhomogeneous relativistic systems.
We theoretically investigate the dynamical Casimir effect (DCE) in electrical circuits based on superconducting microfabricated waveguides with tunable boundary conditions. We propose implementing a rapid modulation of the boundary conditions by tuning the applied magnetic flux through superconducting quantum-interference devices that are embedded in the waveguide circuits. We consider two circuits: (i) An open waveguide circuit that corresponds to a single mirror in free space, and (ii) a resonator coupled to a microfabricated waveguide, which corresponds to a single-sided cavity in free space. We analyze the properties of the DCE in these two setups by calculating the generated photon-flux densities, output-field correlation functions, and the quadrature squeezing spectra. We show that these properties of the output field exhibit signatures unique to the radiation due to the DCE, and could, therefore, be used for distinguishing the DCE from other types of radiation in these circuits. We also discuss the similarities and differences between the DCE, in the resonator setup, and the down-conversion of pump photons in parametric oscillators.
We demonstrate, in the regime of ultrastrong matter-field coupling, the strong connection between the dynamical Casimir effect (DCE) and the performance of quantum-information protocols. Our results are illustrated by means of a realistic quantum communication channel and show that the DCE is a fundamental limit for quantum computation and communication and that novel schemes are required to implement ultrafast and reliable quantum gates. Strategies to partially counteract the DCE are also discussed.