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Open Systems & Information Dynamics

Localization in a QFT Model

Fabrizio Buscemi, G. Compagno

Published Aug 31, 2006• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Localization properties of a QFT model, consisting of a quantum scalar field interacting linearly with a classical localized source, are investigated using various approaches present in the literature. We evaluate, to any order of the field–matter coupling constant, the time evolution of average values of one-point localization observables and scalar product between the quantum field state of the evolving system and localized states. We show that the appearance of nonlocality can be connected to nonlocal properties of localized states used or to the fact that localization operators do not satisfy the microcausality principle and therefore does not imply the violation of causality.

DOI
10.1007/s11080-006-9010-6

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Localization properties of a QFT model, consisting of a quantum scalar field interacting linearly with a classical localized source, are investigated using various approaches present in the literature. We evaluate, to any order of the field–matter coupling constant, the time evolution of average values of one-point localization observables and scalar product between the quantum field state of the evolving system and localized states. We show that the appearance of nonlocality can be connected to nonlocal properties of localized states used or to the fact that localization operators do not satisfy the microcausality principle and therefore does not imply the violation of causality.
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In relativistic quantum field theory (QFT) ideal measurements of certain observables are physically impossible without violating causality. This prompts two questions: (i) can a given observable be ideally measured in QFT, and (ii) if not, in what sense can it be measured? Here we formulate a necessary and sufficient condition that any measurement, and more generally any state update (quantum operation), must satisfy to respect causality in real scalar QFT. We argue that for unitary `kicks' and operations involving 1-parameter families of Kraus operators, e.g., Gaussian measurements, the only causal observables are smeared fields and the identity---the basic observables in real scalar QFT. We provide examples with more complicated operators such as products of smeared fields, and show that the associated state updates are acausal, and hence impossible. Despite this, one can still recover expectation values of such operators, and we show how to do this using only causal measurements of smeared fields.
Local properties of a quantum system are defined as the expectation values of its observables in a microstate of some complete set of commuting observables. An equation for the time evolution of local properties is obtained for any system whose statistical operator (density matrix) evolves by unitary transformation in accordance with the von Neumann equation. The formalism is applied to the example of a system of one particle. In this case the local properties are fields, the time-evolution equation is an equation of continuity with source terms. For constants of motion the source terms vanish, giving equations of continuity for the fields. For each scalar field a flux vector for its transport current is defined. For momentum, a stress tensor is obtained. The effects on local properties of realization of a latent ensemble of the statistical operator (an entropy-increasing mechanism recently proposed to explain approach to equilibrium) are also considered; a non-negative local entropy production is identified, as well as a discontinuous redistribution of local properties among microstates.
In relativistic Quantum Field Theory (QFT) ideal measurements of certain observables are physically impossible without violating causality. This prompts two questions: i) can a given observable be ideally measured in QFT, and ii) if not, in what sense can it be measured? Here we formulate a necessary and sufficient condition that any measurement, and more generally any state update (quantum operation), must satisfy to respect causality. Our focus is scalar QFT, although our results should be applicable to observables in fermionic QFT. We argue that for unitary `kicks' and operations involving 1-parameter families of Kraus operators, e.g. Gaussian measurements, the only causal observables are smeared fields and the identity - the basic observables in QFT. We provide examples with more complicated operators such as products of smeared fields, and show that the associated state updates are acausal, and hence impossible. Despite this, one can still recover expectation values of such operators, and we show how to do this using only causal measurements of smeared fields.
Constructing observables that describe the localization of relativistic particles is an important foundational problem in relativistic quantum field theory (QFT). The description of localization in terms of single-time observables leads to conflict with the requirement of causality. In this paper, we describe particle localization in terms of time-of-arrival observables, defined in terms of the interaction between a quantum field and a measuring apparatus. The resulting probabilities are linear functionals of QFT correlation functions. Specializing to the case of a scalar field, we identify several time-of-arrival observables differing on the way that the apparatus localizes particle-detection records. Maximum localization is obtained for a unique observable that is related to the Newton-Wigner position operator. Finally, we define a measure of localizability for relativistic particles in terms of a novel time-energy uncertainty relation for the variance of the time of arrival.