Jorge A. Swieca’s contributions to quantum field theory in the 60s and 70s and their relevance in present research

2014

Recent insights into the conceptual structure of localization in QFT ("modular localization") led to clarifications of old unsolved problems. The oldest one is the Einstein-Jordan conundrum which led Jordan in 1925 to the discovery of quantum field theory. This comparison of fluctuations in subsystems of heat bath systems (Einstein) with those resulting from the restriction of the QFT vacuum state to an open subvolume (Jordan) leads to a perfect analogy; the globally pure vacuum state becomes upon local restriction a strongly impure KMS state. This phenomenon of localization-caused thermal behavior as well as the vacuum-polarization clouds at the causal boundary of the localization region places localization in QFT into a sharp contrast with quantum mechanics and justifies the attribute "holstic". In fact it positions the E-J Gedankenexperiment into the same conceptual category as the cosmological constant problem and the Unruh Gedankenexperiment. The holistic structure of QFT resulting from "modular localization" also leads to a revision of the conceptual origin of the crucial crossing property which entered particle theory at the time of the bootstrap S-matrix approach but suffered from incorrect use in the S-matrix settings of the dual model and string theory.The new holistic point of view, which strengthens the autonomous aspect of QFT, also comes with new messages for gauge theory by exposing the clash between Hilbert space structure and localization and presenting alternative solutions based on the use of stringlocal fields in Hilbert space. Among other things this leads to a radical reformulation of the Englert-Higgs symmetry breaking mechanism. Contents 1 Introduction 282 Vacuum polarization, area law 383 Modular localization and its thermal manifestation 424 The E-J conundrum, Jordan's model 545 Particle crossing, on-shell constructions from modular setting 58 PrefaceThe subject of this paper grew out of many discussions about Jordan's discovery of quantum field theory (QFT) which I had with the late Jürgen Ehlers. These conversations focussed in particular on events between the publication of Jordan's thesis on quantum aspects of statistical quantum mechanics in 1924 [1], and his discovery of QFT which was published in one section of the famous 1926 "Dreimännerarbeit" [2] together with Born and Heisenberg. This famous paper was in fact conceived as the second paper on quantum mechanics (QM). The resistance of Born and Heisenberg against Jordan's section has its natural explanation in that these two authors felt that Jordan was burdening the conceptual struggle to understand the new quantum mechanics with something which was even further out. I met Jürgen Ehlers the first time around 1957 at the University of Hamburg when he was Jordan's assistant and played the leading role in Jordan's general relativity seminar. Our paths split, after I wrote my diploma thesis on a topic of particle theory at the time when particle physics moved away from the university to the newly constructed high energy la...

Section: Couplings To Hermitian Fields and The Higgs Mechanismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modular localization and the holistic structure of causal quantum theory, a historical perspective

2014

“…have no counterparts in classical electromagnetism. The first indications of what may be different with massive vectormesons came from Schwinger [79] who suggested that in such a case the charge is "screened" (vanishes); as a model which only exists in the screening phase he proposed the d=1+1 rigorously solvable "Schwinger model" [72]. In a subsequent structural (nonperturbative) proof of charge-screening by Swieca [76] it became clear that in couplings of massive vectormesons to complex matter there are two conserved currents namely the identically conserved Maxwell current from the divergence of the massive field strength j µ = ∂ ν F µν and the particle-antiparticle counting current of complex fields; they only coalesce in the massless limit.…”

Section: Selfinteracting Massive Gluons and Remarks On Confinementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modular localization and the holistic structure of causal quantum theory, a historical perspective

Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in

2015

Modular localization and the holistic structure of causal quantum theory, a historical perspectiveDedicated to the memory of Jürgen Ehlers Studies in History Recent insights into the conceptual structure of localization in QFT ("modular localization") led to clarifications of old unsolved problems. The oldest one is the Einstein-Jordan conundrum which led Jordan in 1925 to the discovery of quantum field theory. This comparison of fluctuations in subsystems of heat bath systems (Einstein) with those resulting from the restriction of the QFT vacuum state to an open subvolume (Jordan) leads to a perfect analogy; the globally pure vacuum state becomes upon local restriction a strongly impure KMS state. This phenomenon of localization-caused thermal behavior as well as the vacuum-polarization clouds at the causal boundary of the localization region places localization in QFT into a sharp contrast with quantum mechanics and justifies the attribute "holstic". In fact it positions the E-J Gedankenexperiment into the same conceptual category as the cosmological constant problem and the Unruh Gedankenexperiment. The holistic structure of QFT resulting from "modular localization" also leads to a revision of the conceptual origin of the crucial crossing property which entered particle theory at the time of the bootstrap S-matrix approach but suffered from incorrect use in the S-matrix settings of the dual model and string theory.The new holistic point of view, which strengthens the autonomous aspect of QFT, also comes with new messages for gauge theory by exposing the clash between Hilbert space structure and localization and presenting alternative solutions based on the use of stringlocal fields in Hilbert space. Among other things this leads to a radical reformulation of the EnglertHiggs symmetry breaking mechanism.

“…there is nothing in the intrinsic properties of the observables of the two theories which reveals that a nonvanishing one-point function was used in the recipe for their construction. For a detailed discussion of these issues see [23].…”

Section: Stringlike Potentials In Interactions Schwinger-higgs Chargmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Alternative to the Gauge Theoretic Setting

2011

Found Phys

The standard formulation of quantum gauge theories results from the Lagrangian (functional integral) quantization of classical gauge theories. A more intrinsic quantum theoretical access in the spirit of Wigner's representation theory shows that there is a fundamental clash between the pointlike localization of zero mass (vector, tensor) potentials and the Hilbert space (positivity, unitarity) structure of QT. The quantization approach has no other way than to stay with pointlike localization and sacrifice the Hilbert space whereas the approach built on the intrinsic quantum concept of modular localization keeps the Hilbert space and trades the conflict creating pointlike generation with the tightest consistent localization: semiinfinite spacelike string localization. Whereas these potentials in the presence of interactions stay quite close to associated pointlike field strengths, the interacting matter fields to which they are coupled bear the brunt of the nonlocal aspect in that they are string-generated in a way which cannot be undone by any differentiation.The new stringlike approach to gauge theory also revives the idea of a SchwingerHiggs screening mechanism as a deeper and less metaphoric description of the Higgs spontaneous symmetry breaking and its accompanying tale about "God's particle" and its mass generation for all the other particles.Keywords Quantum field theory · Gauge theory · String localization of potentials · Renormalizability of higher spin interactions · Modular localization · Schwinger-Higgs screening B. Schroer ( ) CBPF, Rua Dr. Xavier Sigaud 150,