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THE CASIMIR ENERGY OF A MASSIVE FERMIONIC FIELD CONFINED IN A (d + 1)-DIMENSIONAL SLAB-BAG

Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC/CSIC), Edifici Nexus, Gran Capità 2-4, 08034 Barcelona, Spain

Departament d'Estructura i Constituents de la Matèria, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 647, 08028 Barcelona, Spain

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F. C. SANTOS

Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, C.P. 68528, Rio de Janeiro CEP 21945-970, Brazil

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A. C. TORT

Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, C.P. 68528, Rio de Janeiro CEP 21945-970, Brazil

Present address: Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC/CSIC) Edifici Nexus 201, Gran Capità 2-4, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.

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https://doi.org/10.1142/S0217751X03014186Cited by:36 (Source: Crossref)

Abstract

We evaluate the fermionic Casimir effect associated with a massive fermion confined within a planar (d + 1)-dimensional slab-bag, on which MIT bag model boundary conditions of the standard type, along a single spatial direction, are imposed. A simple and effective method for adding up the zero-point energy eigenvalues, corresponding to a quantum field under the influence of arbitrary boundary conditions, imposed on the field on flat surfaces perpendicular to a chosen spatial direction, is proposed. Using this procedure, an analytic result is obtained, from which small and large fermion mass limits, valid for an arbitrary number of dimensions, are derived. They match some known results in particular cases. The method can be easily extended to other configurations.

This work is dedicated to the memory of J. A. Mignaco, A.C.T.'s teacher and friend.

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