Some subtleties in the relationships among heat kernel invariants, eigenvalue distributions, and quantum vacuum energy

A common tool in Casimir physics (and many other areas) is the asymptotic (high-frequency) expansion of eigenvalue densities, employed as either input or output of calculations of the asymptotic behavior of various Green functions. Here we clarify some fine points and potentially confusing aspects of the subject. In particular, we show how recent observations of Kolomeisky et al (2013 Phys. Rev. A 87 042519) fit into the established framework of the distributional asymptotics of spectral functions. (paper)