Gauge Invariance and Vacuum Energies of Non-Abelian String-Configurations

Abstract

We improve on a method to compute the fermion contribution to the vacuum polarization energy of string-like configurations in a non-Abelian gauge theory. We establish the new method by numerically verifying the invariance under (a subset of) local gauge transformations. This also provides further support for the use of spectral methods to compute vacuum polarization energies in general. We confirm that the vacuum energy in the MS-bar renormalization scheme is tiny as compared to the mass of the fluctuating fermion field. Numerical results for the physical on-shell scheme are also presented.

8 pages, 2 figures, matches version to be published in Phys. Lett. B

References in corpus (4)

• Cosmic Strings and Superstrings
• Quantum Energies of Strings in a 2+1 Dimensional Gauge Theory
• Vacuum Energies of Non--Abelian String--Configurations in 3+1 Dimensions
• Quantum stabilization of Z-strings, a status report on D=3+1 dimensions

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• Stable charged cosmic strings
• Fermion Energies in the Background of a Cosmic String
• Casimir Interactions between Magnetic Flux Tubes in a Dense Lattice
• Quantum Stabilization of a Closed Nielsen-Olesen String
• Isospin Invariance and the Vacuum Polarization Energy of Cosmic Strings
• Quantum Stabilization of Cosmic Strings
• Quantum stabilization of a hedgehog type of cosmic string
• Cosmic Strings Stabilized by Fermion Fluctuations