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Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General

Unstable particles and the Poincare semigroup in quantum field theory

Robert Alicki, M. Fannes, André F. Verbeure

Published Apr 21, 1986• 14 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The authors propose to describe the dynamics of unstable particles in relativistic quantum field theory in terms of semigroups of transformations of the observables. This leads, in contrast to the usual Hilbert space level treatment, to a complete and consistent descriptions of the irreversible dynamics of decay processes. The scheme is explicitly worked out for the massive scalar quantum field and the evolution of the particle density and its higher moments is computed.

DOI
10.1088/0305-4470/19/6/021

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The authors propose to describe the dynamics of unstable particles in relativistic quantum field theory in terms of semigroups of transformations of the observables. This leads, in contrast to the usual Hilbert space level treatment, to a complete and consistent descriptions of the irreversible dynamics of decay processes. The scheme is explicitly worked out for the massive scalar quantum field and the evolution of the particle density and its higher moments is computed.
In this talk we discuss how to combine aspects of the theory of stable relativistic particles and of the theory of non-relativistic decaying particles into a relativistic theory of unstable particles and resonances. For the theory of stable relativistic particles we use Wigner’s description by unitary irreducible representations (UIR) of the Poincaré group [ 1 ] which has been the foundation for relativistic quantum mechanics and field theory [ 2 ]. For the non-relativistic decaying particles we use a time asymmetric quantum mechanics in which the Hilbert space axiom, that allows only symmetric (unitary group) time evolution, is replaced by time asymmetric boundary conditions which lead to an irreversible , semigroup time evolution [ 3 ]. In the limit in which certain contributions to the energy continuum are neglected, this new quantum mechanics leads to the Weisskopf-Wigner approximate methods [ 4 ] for decay, and to the Breit-Wigner energy distribution [ 5 ] for the resonance lineshape. We thus generalize and combine two fundamental contributions of Wigner into a description of relativistic resonances and decaying states. The central concept of this description is the relativistic Gamow vector, which is a generalized eigenvector (ket) of the self-adjoint invariant square mass operator https://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> M 2 = P μ P μ P μ = P 1 μ + P 2 μ in resonance scattering 1±2→ R →3±4) with a complex eigenvalue, a relativistic Breit-Wigner energy distribution, and an exponential time evolution governed by a semigroup of continuous operators in the space of kets.
It has been shown by Flesia and Piron that the scattering theory of Lax and Phillips, developed primarily for the treatment of hyperbolic systems (e.g., classical scattering of electromagnetic waves on a finite target), can be applied to the quantum theory. In order to construct the correspondence, the continuously infinite family of (isomorphic) Hilbert spaces associated with each value of the time (are taken to be a direct integral representation (with a choice of measure) of a larger Hilbert space which includes the variable t in its measure space. We show that this theory, for which the evolution contracted to the subspace orthogonal to the incoming and outgoing subspaces is a contractive semigroup, provides a natural description of the irreversible motion of an unstable quantum system
The main subject of the paper is the description of unstable states in quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. Unstable states in quantum field theory can only be introduced as the intermediate states and not as asymptotic states. The absence of the intermediate unstable states from the asymptotic states is compatible with unitarity. Thus the concept of an unstable state is not introduced in quantum field theory despite the fact that an unstable state has well defined linear momentum, angular momentum and other intrinsic quantum numbers. In the rigged Hilbert space quantum mechanics one can define vectors that correspond to the unstable states. These vectors are the generalized eigenvectors (kets in the rigged Hilbert space) with complex eigenvalues of the self-adjoint Hamiltonian. The real part of the eigenvalue corresponds to the mass of an unstable state and the imaginary part is one half of the total width. Such vectors form the minimally complex semigroup representation of the Poincaré transformations into the forward light cone.
Abstract: We discuss some of the experimental motivation for the need for semigroup decay laws, and the quantum Lax-Phillips theory of scattering and unstable systems. In this framework, the decay of an unstable system is described by a semigroup. The spectrum of the generator of the semigroup corresponds to the singularities of the Lax-Phillips S-matrix. In the case of discrete (complex) spectrum of the generator of the semigroup, associated with resonances, the decay law is exactly exponential. The states corresponding to these resonances (eigenfunctions of the generator of the semigroup) lie in the Lax-Phillips Hilbert space, and therefore all physical properties of the resonant states can be computed. We show that the parametrized relativistic quantum theory is a natural setting for the realization of the Lax-Phillips theory. 1.
The Friedrichs model has often been used in order to obtain explicit formulas for eigenvectors associated to complex eigenvalues corresponding to lifetimes. Such eigenvectors are called Gamow vectors and they acquire meaning in extensions of the conventional Hilbert space of quantum theory to the so-called rigged Hilbert space. In this paper, Gamow vectors are constructed for a solvable model of an unstable relativistic field. As a result, we obtain a time asymmetric relativistic extension of the Fock space. This extension leads to two distinct Poincaré semigroups. The time reversal transformation maps one semigroup to the other. As a result, the usual PCT invariance should be extended. We show that irreversibility as expressed by dynamical semigroups is compatible with the requirements of relativity.