Some major developments of physics in the last three decades are addressed by highly qualified specialists in different specific fields. They include renormalization problems in QFT, vacuum energy fluctuations and the Casimir effect in different configurations, and a wealth of applications. A number of closely related issues are also considered. The cosmological applications of these theories play a crucial role and are at the very heart of the book; in particular, the possibility to explain in a unified way the whole history of the evolution of the Universe: from primordial inflation to the present day accelerated expansion. Further, a description of the mathematical background underlying many of the physical theories considered above is provided. This includes the uses of zeta functions in physics, as in the regularization problems in QFT already mentioned, specifically in curved space-time, and in Casimir problems as.

Some major developments of physics in the last three decades are addressed by highly qualified specialists in different specific fields. They include renormalization problems in QFT, vacuum energy fluctuations and the Casimir effect in different configurations, and a wealth of applications. A number of closely related issues are also considered. The cosmological applications of these theories play a crucial role and are at the very heart of the book; in particular, the possibility to explain in a unified way the whole history of the evolution of the Universe: from primordial inflation to the present day accelerated expansion. Further, a description of the mathematical background underlying many of the physical theories considered above is provided. This includes the uses of zeta functions in physics, as in the regularization problems in QFT already mentioned, specifically in curved space-time, and in Casimir problems as.

Zeta-function regularization is a powerful method in perturbation theory, and this book is a comprehensive guide for the student of this subject. Everything is explained in detail, in particular the mathematical difficulties and tricky points, and several applications are given to show how the procedure works in practice, for example in the Casimir effect, gravity and string theory, high-temperature phase transition, topological symmetry breaking, and non-commutative spacetime. The formulae, some of which are new, can be directly applied in creating physically meaningful, accurate numerical calculations. The book acts both as a basic introduction and a collection of exercises for those who want to apply this regularization procedure in practice. Thoroughly revised, updated and expanded, this new edition includes novel, explicit formulas on the general quadratic, the Chowla-Selberg series case, an interplay with the Hadamard calculus, and also features a fresh chapter on recent cosmological applications, including the calculation of the vacuum energy fluctuations at large scale in braneworld and other models.

Zeta regularization is a method to treat the divergent quantities appearing in several areas of mathematical physics and, in particular, in quantum field theory; it is based on the fascinating idea that a finite value can be ascribed to a formally divergent expression via analytic continuation with respect to a complex regulating parameter.This book provides a thorough overview of zeta regularization for the vacuum expectation values of the most relevant observables of a quantized, neutral scalar field in Minkowski spacetime; the field can be confined to a spatial domain, with suitable boundary conditions, and an external potential is possibly present. Zeta regularization is performed in this framework for both local and global observables, like the stress-energy tensor and the total energy; the analysis of their vacuum expectation values accounts for the Casimir physics of the system. The analytic continuation process required in this setting by zeta regularization is deeply linked to some integral kernels; these are determined by the fundamental elliptic operator appearing in the evolution equation for the quantum field. The book provides a systematic illustration of these connections, devised as a toolbox for explicit computations in specific configurations; many examples are presented. A comprehensive account is given of the existing literature on this subject, including the previous work of the authors.The book will be useful to anyone interested in a mathematically sound description of quantum vacuum effects, from graduate students to scientists working in this area.

Particularly in the humanities and social sciences, festschrifts are a popular forum for discussion. The IJBF provides quick and easy general access to these important resources for scholars and students. The festschrifts are located in state and regional libraries and their bibliographic details are recorded. Since 1983, more than 659,000 articles from more than 30,500 festschrifts, published between 1977 and 2011, have been catalogued.

This book overviews the extensive literature on apparent cosmological and black hole horizons. In theoretical gravity, dynamical situations such as gravitational collapse, black hole evaporation, and black holes interacting with non-trivial environments, as well as the attempts to model gravitational waves occurring in highly dynamical astrophysical processes, require that the concept of event horizon be generalized. Inequivalent notions of horizon abound in the technical literature and are discussed in this manuscript. The book begins with a quick review of basic material in the first one and a half chapters, establishing a unified notation. Chapter 2 reminds the reader of the basic tools used in the analysis of horizons and reviews the various definitions of horizons appearing in the literature. Cosmological horizons are the playground in which one should take baby steps in understanding horizon physics. Chapter 3 analyzes cosmological horizons, their proposed thermodynamics, and several coordinate systems. The remaining chapters discuss analytical solutions of the field equations of General Relativity, scalar-tensor, and f(R) gravity which exhibit time-varying apparent horizons and horizons which appear and/or disappear in pairs. An extensive bibliography enriches the volume. The intended audience is master and PhD level students and researchers in theoretical physics with knowledge of standard gravity.

Based on lectures given in honour of Stephen Hawking's sixtieth birthday, this book comprises contributions from some of the world's leading theoretical physicists. It begins with a section containing chapters by successful scientific popularisers, bringing to life both Hawking's work and other exciting developments in physics. The book then goes on to provide a critical evaluation of advanced subjects in modern cosmology and theoretical physics. Topics covered include the origin of the universe, warped spacetime, cosmological singularities, quantum gravity, black holes, string theory, quantum cosmology and inflation. As well as providing a fascinating overview of the wide variety of subject areas to which Stephen Hawking has contributed, this book represents an important assessment of prospects for the future of fundamental physics and cosmology.