Finite temperature nonlocal effective action for quantum fields in curved space

Abstract

Massless and massive scalar fields and massless spinor fields are considered at arbitrary temperatures in four dimensional ultrastatic curved spacetime. Scalar models under consideration can be either conformal or nonconformal and include self-interaction. The one-loop nonlocal effective action at finite temperature and free energy for these quantum fields are found up to the second order in background field strengths using the covariant perturbation theory. The resulting expressions are free of infrared divergences. Spectral representations for nonlocal terms of high temperature expansions are obtained.