Quantum fields in boson star spacetime

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Saffin, Paul M., Xie, Qi-Xin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Saffin, Paul M.
Xie, Qi-Xin
author_facet Saffin, Paul M.
Xie, Qi-Xin
contents Boson stars have been extensively studied in classical gravity, but their quantum properties remain comparatively unexplored. In this paper, we compute the quantum scalar fields and stress tensor in boson star spacetimes within the framework of semiclassical gravity. Divergences are regularized using Pauli-Villars fields, and accurate numerical results are obtained through spectral methods. Employing coherent states enables a direct comparison between the classical part of the stress tensor and the quantum fluctuation. Our results indicate that strong spacetime curvature is the primary source of large quantum effects. The renormalized quantum energy density is mostly positive but the radial pressure is negative, suggesting that classical boson star solutions require modification once quantum effects are included. Moreover, in regimes of large curvature, the quantum fluctuations can constitute a significant fraction of the total stress tensor. The methods developed here can be generalized to other compact objects and used to study their response to quantum corrections.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_05129
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Quantum fields in boson star spacetime
Saffin, Paul M.
Xie, Qi-Xin
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory
Boson stars have been extensively studied in classical gravity, but their quantum properties remain comparatively unexplored. In this paper, we compute the quantum scalar fields and stress tensor in boson star spacetimes within the framework of semiclassical gravity. Divergences are regularized using Pauli-Villars fields, and accurate numerical results are obtained through spectral methods. Employing coherent states enables a direct comparison between the classical part of the stress tensor and the quantum fluctuation. Our results indicate that strong spacetime curvature is the primary source of large quantum effects. The renormalized quantum energy density is mostly positive but the radial pressure is negative, suggesting that classical boson star solutions require modification once quantum effects are included. Moreover, in regimes of large curvature, the quantum fluctuations can constitute a significant fraction of the total stress tensor. The methods developed here can be generalized to other compact objects and used to study their response to quantum corrections.
title Quantum fields in boson star spacetime
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.05129