First and Second Quantization Theories of Parastatistics
Thien Vo-Dai
Although usually only two kinds of statistics, namely Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac statistics, are considered in Quantum Mechanics and in Quantum Field Theory, other kinds of statistics, called collectively parastatistics, are conceivable. We critically review theoretical studies of parastatistics to date, point out and clarify several confusions. We first study the "proofs" so far proposed for the symmetrization postulate which excludes parastatistics, emphasizing their ad hoc nature. Then, after exploring in detail the structure of the quantum mechanical theory of paraparticles, we clarify some confusions concerning the compatibility of parastatistics with the so-called cluster property, which has been an issue of controversy for several years. We show, following a suggestion of Greenberg, that the quantum mechanical theory of paraparticles can be formulated in terms of density matrix compatibly with the cluster property. We also discuss such topics as selection rules for systems with variable numbers of paraparticles, the connection between statistics and permutation characters, and the classification of paraparticles. For the quantum field theory of paraparticles, we study discrete representations of the para-commutation relations and illustrate in detail Greenberg and Messiah's theorem concerning Green's ansatzes. Also, fundamental topics such as the spin-statistic theorem, the TCP theorem and the observability of parafields are discussed on the basis of Green's ansatzes. Finally, we point out that the so-called particle permutation operators do not always define multi-dimensional representations of the permutation group both in first and second quantization theories. This questions the validity of the correspondence between the two theories which has recently been proposed.
•Jul 1, 1972•1 citation