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Cited by 223Relativity and Gravitational TheoryCosmology and Gravitation TheoriesBlack Holes and Theoretical Physics

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 176 of the 177 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Energy conditions in general relativity and quantum field theory

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Kontou, Eleni-Alexandra, Sanders, Ko·2020·Classical and Quantum Gravity
DOI 10.1088/1361-6382/ab8fcf
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Abstract

This review summarizes the current status of the energy conditions in general relativity and quantum field theory. We provide a historical review and a summary of technical results and applications, complemented with a few new derivations and discussions. We pay special attention to the role of the equations of motion and to the relation between classical and quantum theories. Pointwise energy conditions were first introduced as physically reasonable restrictions on matter in the context of general relativity. They aim to express e.g. the positivity of mass or the attractiveness of gravity. Perhaps more importantly, they have been used as assumptions in mathematical relativity to prove singularity theorems and the non-existence of wormholes and similar exotic phenomena. However, the delicate balance between conceptual simplicity, general validity and strong results has faced serious challenges, because all pointwise energy conditions are systematically violated by quantum fields and also by some rather simple classical fields. In response to these challenges, weaker statements were introduced, such as quantum energy inequalities and averaged energy conditions. These have a larger range of validity and may still suffice to prove at least some of the earlier results. One of these conditions, the achronal averaged null energy condition, has recently received increased attention. It is expected to be a universal property of the dynamics of all gravitating physical matter, even in the context of semiclassical or quantum gravity.

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Research works printed but not linked: 9

  1. Casimir, 1948, On the attraction between two perfectly conducting plates, Indag. Math., 10, 261
  2. Casimir, 1948, Proc. Koninklijke Nederl. Akademie Wetenschappen, 51, 793
  3. Casimir, 1987, Frontiers Phys., 65, 342
  4. Casimir, 1997, Proc. Koninklijke Nederl. Akademie Wetenschappen, 100N3-4, 61
  5. Ehlers, 1961, Akad. Wiss. Lit. Abh. Math.-Natwiss. Kl. (Mainz), 11, 792
  6. Pirani, 1956, Acta Phys. Pol., 15, 389
  7. Zel’dovich, 1962, The equation of state at ultra high densities and its relativistic limitations (translation), Sov. Phys - JETP, 14, 1143
  8. Ford, 1995, Averaged energy conditions and quantum inequalities, Phys. Rev. D, 51, 4277, 10.1103/physrevd.51.4277 · DOI · Paper page
  9. Rosenfeld, 1940, Sur le tenseur d’impulsion-énergie, Mémoires Acad. Roy. de Belgique, 18, 1

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Metadata

Authors
Kontou, E.-A., & Sanders, K.
Affiliations
  • College of the Holy Cross (US)
  • Dublin City University (IE)
ORCID
Venue
Classical and Quantum Gravity
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Published
2020-09-18
Volume
37
Issue
19
Pages
193001
ISSN
  • 0264-9381 (ISSN-L)
  • 1361-6382
DOI
10.1088/1361-6382/ab8fcf
OpenAlex
W3009127927
Cited by
223
References
172
Citations by year
2026: 33 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 56 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 3
FWCI
10.70
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Classical and Quantum Gravity (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Funders
H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (744037)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Relativity and Gravitational Theory
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Nuclear and High Energy Physics › Black Holes and Theoretical Physics
Keywords
energy conditions, quantum inequalities, averaged null energy condition, singularity theorems, wormholes, exotic matter, semiclassical gravity, quantum field theory in curved spacetime, equations of motion

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