Can quantum mechanics breed negative masses?

Abstract

The Casimir effect realizes the existence of static negative energy densities in quantum field theory. We establish physically reasonable conditions for the non-negativity of the total mass of a Casimir apparatus held in equilibrium in the Minkowski background, irrespective of any condensed matter consideration. Specifically, the dynamical equilibrium requires the presence of additional matter to hold the system apart. As long as this extra matter satisfies the dominant energy condition, the mass of the combined system is positive. Thus, the very same reason why energy cannot travel backward in time could be the underlying mechanism behind the positivity of the mass. We discuss the takeaways from the Casimir setting to more general circumstances.