Proof of the symmetry of the off-diagonal heat-kernel and Hadamard's expansion coefficients in general C∞C^{\infty} Riemannian manifolds

We consider the problem of the symmetry of the off-diagonal heat-kernel coefficients as well as the coefficients corresponding to the short-distance-divergent part of the Hadamard expansion in general smooth (analytic or not) manifolds. The requirement of such a symmetry played a central r\^{o}le in the theory of the point-splitting one-loop renormalization of the stress tensor in either Riemannian or Lorentzian manifolds. Actually, the symmetry of these coefficients has been assumed as a hypothesis in several papers concerning these issues without an explicit proof. The difficulty of a direct proof is related to the fact that the considered off-diagonal heat-kernel expansion, also in the Riemannian case, in principle, may be not a proper asymptotic expansion. On the other hand, direct computations of the off-diagonal heat-kernel coefficients are impossibly difficult in nontrivial cases and thus no case is known in the literature where the symmetry does not hold. By approximating $C^\infty$ metrics with analytic metrics in common (totally normal) geodesically convex neighborhoods, it is rigorously proven that, in general $C^\infty$ Riemannian manifolds, any point admits a geodesically convex neighborhood where the off-diagonal heat-kernel coefficients, as well as the relevant Hadamard's expansion coefficients, are symmetric functions of the two arguments.Comment: 30 pages, latex, no figures, minor errors corrected, English improved, shortened version accepted for publication in Commun. Math. Phy

Proof of the symmetry of the off-diagonal Hadamard/Seeley-deWitt's coefficients in C∞C^{\infty} Lorentzian manifolds by a local Wick rotation

Completing the results obtained in a previous paper, we prove the symmetry of Hadamard/Seeley-deWitt off-diagonal coefficients in smooth $D$-dimensional Lorentzian manifolds. To this end, it is shown that, in any Lorentzian manifold, a sort of ``local Wick rotation'' of the metric can be performed provided the metric is a locally analytic function of the coordinates and the coordinates are ``physical''. No time-like Killing field is necessary. Such a local Wick rotation analytically continues the Lorentzian metric in a neighborhood of any point, or, more generally, in a neighborhood of a space-like (Cauchy) hypersurface, into a Riemannian metric. The continuation locally preserves geodesically convex neighborhoods. In order to make rigorous the procedure, the concept of a complex pseudo-Riemannian (not Hermitian or K\"ahlerian) manifold is introduced and some features are analyzed. Using these tools, the symmetry of Hadamard/Seeley-deWitt off-diagonal coefficients is proven in Lorentzian analytical manifolds by analytical continuation of the (symmetric) Riemannian heat-kernel coefficients. This continuation is performed in geodesically convex neighborhoods in common with both the metrics. Then, the symmetry is generalized to $C^\infty$ non analytic Lorentzian manifolds by approximating Lorentzian $C^{\infty}$ metrics by analytic metrics in common geodesically convex neighborhoods. The symmetry requirement plays a central r\^{o}le in the point-splitting renormalization procedure of the one-loop stress-energy tensor in curved spacetimes for Hadamard quantum states.Comment: 30 pages, LaTeX, no figures, shortened version, minor errors corrected a note added. To appear in Commun. Math. Phy

One-loop stress-tensor renormalization in curved background: the relation between ζ\zeta-function and point-splitting approaches, and an improved point-splitting procedure

We conclude the rigorous analysis of a previous paper concerning the relation between the (Euclidean) point-splitting approach and the local $\zeta$-function procedure to renormalize physical quantities at one-loop in (Euclidean) QFT in curved spacetime. The stress tensor is now considered in general $D$-dimensional closed manifolds for positive scalar operators $-\Delta + V(x)$. Results obtained in previous works (in the case D=4 and $V(x) =\xi R(x) + m^2$) are rigorously proven and generalized. It is also proven that, in static Euclidean manifolds, the method is compatible with Lorentzian-time analytic continuations. It is found that, for $D>1$, the result of the $\zeta$ function procedure is the same obtained from an improved version of the point-splitting method which uses a particular choice of the term $w_0(x,y)$ in the Hadamard expansion of the Green function. This point-splitting procedure works for any value of the field mass $m$. Furthermore, in the case D=4 and $V(x) = \xi R(x)+ m^2$, the given procedure generalizes the Euclidean version of Wald's improved point-splitting procedure. The found point-splitting method should work generally, also dropping the hypothesis of a closed manifold, and not depending on the $\zeta$-function procedure. This fact is checked in the Euclidean section of Minkowski spacetime for $A = -\Delta + m^2$ where the method gives rise to the correct stress tensor for $m^2 \geq 0$ automatically.Comment: 41 pages, latex, no figures, minor errors corrected, accepted for publication in J. Math. Phy