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The neutral relativistic scalar field

Jean Zinn‐Justin

Published Apr 15, 2021• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract This chapter introduces the relativistic quantum field theory (QFT) of the neutral scalar boson field. It is a local, relativistic invariant, theory for a real field extension of the non-relativistic field theory of the Bose gas. Locality is a property that plays a central role in most of this work. The QFT is discussed both from the viewpoint of real-time evolution and statistical physics. The holomorphic formalism leads to representations of the S-matrix in terms of field integrals. The S-matrix elements are related to the continuation to real time of various kinds of Euclidean correlation functions. It is argued that the massive φ4 QFT has the quantum Bose gas with a pair potential, in the grand canonical formulation, as a non-relativistic limit.

DOI
10.1093/oso/9780198834625.003.0006

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Abstract This chapter introduces the relativistic quantum field theory (QFT) of the neutral scalar boson field. It is a local, relativistic invariant, theory for a real field extension of the non-relativistic field theory of the Bose gas. Locality is a property that plays a central role in most of this work. The QFT is discussed both from the viewpoint of real-time evolution and statistical physics. The holomorphic formalism leads to representations of the S-matrix in terms of field integrals. The S-matrix elements are related to the continuation to real time of various kinds of Euclidean correlation functions. It is argued that the massive φ4 QFT has the quantum Bose gas with a pair potential, in the grand canonical formulation, as a non-relativistic limit.
Abstract Chapter 4 has introduced the functional integral representation of the quantum statistical operators and thus, formally, evolution in imaginary or Euclidean time. By contrast, to calculate the evolution operator and the scattering S-matrix elements, quantities relevant to particle physics, it is necessary to make a continuation from imaginary to real time. However, the representation of the S-matrix follows from additional considerations. To illustrate the power of the formalism, we show how to recover the perturbative expansion of the scattering amplitude, some semi-classical approximations, and the eikonal approximation. When the asymptotic states at large time are eigenstates of the harmonic oscillator, instead of free particles, the holomorphic formalism becomes useful. A simple generalization of the path integral of Chapter 4 leads to the corresponding path integral representation of the S-matrix. In the case of the Bose gas, the evolution operator is then given by a holomorphic field integral. A parallel formalism leads to an analogous representation for the evolution operator of a system of non-relativistic fermions.
Abstract Chapter 7 covers the main reasons for adopting the methods of quantum field theory (QFT) to study the critical phenomena. It presents both the canonical quantization and the path integral formulation of the field theories as well as the analysis of the perturbation theory. The chapter also covers transfer matrix formalism and the Euclidean aspects of QFT, the field theory of the Ising model, Feynman diagrams, correlation functions in coordinate space, the Minkowski space and the Legendre transformation and vertex functions. Everything in this chapter will be needed sooner or later, since it highlights most of the relevant aspects of quantum field theory.
Abstract Introduced as a quantum extension of Maxwell's classical theory, quantum electrodynamic (QED) has been the first example of a quantum field theory (QFT). Eventually, QFT has become the framework for the discussion of all fundamental interactions at the microscopic scale except, possibly, gravity. More surprisingly, it has also provided a framework for the understanding of second order phase transitions in statistical mechanics. In fact, as hopefully this work illustrates, QFT is the natural framework for the discussion of most systems involving an infinite number of degrees of freedom with local couplings. These systems range from cold Bose gases at the condensation temperature (about ten nanokelvin) to conventional phase transitions (from a few degrees to several hundred) and high energy particle physics up to a TeV, altogether more than twenty orders of magnitude in the energy scale. Therefore, although excellent textbooks about QFT had already been published, I thought, many years ago, that it might not be completely worthless to present a work in which the strong formal relations between particle physics and the theory of critical phenomena are systematically emphasized. This option explains some of the choices made in the presentation. A formulation in terms of field integrals has been adopted to study the properties of QFT. The language of partition and correlation functions has been used throughout, even in applications of QFT to particle physics. Renormalization and renormalization group (RG) properties are systematically discussed. The notion of effective field theory (EFT) and the emergence of renormalizable theories are described. The consequences for fine-tuning and triviality issue are emphasized. This fifth edition has been updated and fully revised.
We present a formulation of quantum field theory based entirely on real numbers, which we call real quantum field theory (RQFT). The construction is obtained from the standard complex-number formulation by replacing the imaginary unit i with a matrix J throughout all formulas. Here J is the real 2x2 matrix satisfying the condition J^2=-1. This extends the recently developed formulation of real quantum mechanics based on the real Kähler space to systems with infinitely many degrees of freedom. As the basic example, we construct the RQFT for a scalar field. We define a field operator acting on the real Kähler analogue of the bosonic Fock space. This operator satisfies the Klein-Gordon equation and the J-form of canonical commutation relation. To construct the RQFT we develop the corresponding J-calculus. In particular, we introduce the direct and inverse J-Fourier transforms and the associated J-valued distributions. In RQFT, the usual unitarity condition for the complex S-matrix is replaced by the statement that the real scattering operator is both orthogonal and symplectic. The physical observables in RQFT coincide with those of ordinary QFT. Thus RQFT does not change the physical predictions of scalar QFT, but provides an equivalent formulation. We explore the possibility of purely real formulations of the Standard Model of elementary particles. We show that it does admit this formulation and the resulting theory has ortho-symplectic symmetry. The choice of the Standard Model as the testbed for exploring the possibility of purely real formulations is related with the fact it provides a realistic description of all known fundamental particles. The real formulation of the Standard Model naturally suggests a possible exit beyond the Standard Model. In particular, we consider the implications of breaking the J-symmetry as a marker for new physics.
A gauge-invariant version of the Wigner representation is used to relate relativistic mechanics, statistical mechanics, and quantum field theory in the context of the electrodynamics of scalar particles. A unified formulation of quantum field theory and statistical mechanics is developed which clarifies the physical interpretation of the single-particle Wigner function. A covariant form of Ehrenfest's theorem is derived. Classical electrodynamics is derived from quantum field theory after making a random-phase approximation. The validity of this approximation is discussed.
We study the Schrödinger equation in quantum field theory (QFT) in its functional formulation. In this approach, quantum correlation functions can be expressed as classical expectation values over (complex) stochastic processes. We obtain a stochastic representation of the Schrödinger time evolution on Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) states by means of the Wiener integral. We discuss QFT in a flat expanding metric and in de Sitter space-time. We calculate the evolution kernel in an expanding flat metric in the real-time formulation. We discuss a field interaction in pseudoRiemannian and Riemannian metrics showing that an inversion of the signature leads to some substantial simplifications of the singularity problems in QFT.