Hartree approximation in curved spacetimes revisited. II. The semiclassical Einstein equations and de Sitter self-consistent solutions

DIANA L. LÓPEZ NACIR; FRANCISCO D. MAZZITELLI; LEONARDO TROMBETTA

PHYSICAL REVIEW D

AMER PHYSICAL SOC

Lugar: New York; Año: 2014 vol. 89 p. 1 - 17

1550-7998

We consider the semiclassical Einstein equations (SEE) in the presence of a quantum scalar field with self-interaction lambda phi^4. Working in the Hartree truncation of the two-particle irreducible (2PI) effective action, we compute the vacuum expectation value of the energy-momentum tensor of the scalar field, which act as a source of the SEE. We obtain the renormalized SEE by implementing a consistent renormalization procedure. We apply our results to find self-consistent de Sitter solutions to the SEE in situations with or without spontaneous breaking of the Z_2-symmetry.