Zero-Point Energy of Quantum Fields in a Schwarzschild Geometry

The effective Lagrangian and the zero-point (or Casimir) energy is calculated from the zeta-function which is obtained by the heat kernel method using the expansion of (Bormann and Antonsen, 1995). Calculated this way this unavoidable energy contribution is automatically regularised and ready for further investigation. Interesting observations include a large energy contribution (from scalar field and fermionic zero-point fluctuations) that is non-zero as the mass goes to zero, perhaps indicating a topological origin. Also, plots of the contribution of gauge boson fields to the zero-point energy, as a function of radial distance (gravitational field strength) and the size of the gauge boson coupling (gauge field strength) shows great variation, notably the occurrence of ‘resonances.’