Dirac and Jordan commit “sin squared”: second quantization and the beginning of quantum field theory

Robert Golub, S. K. Lamoreaux

Published Feb 28, 2023• 0 citations

Abstract

Abstract We continue the discussion of the abstract transformation theory which led to the development of second quantization. Jordan had already suggested (in the foundational papers on matrix mechanics by Heisenberg, Born, and himself) that the electromagnetic field should be represented by a matrix, i.e., quantized. Dirac eventually took up this idea and proposed quantizing the field by treating the field as an operator. Jordan (with others) showed how the same technique could be applied to Bosons and then Fermions. This established the roots of quantum field theory. It also cleared up some of the interpretational issues of the time.

DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198822189.003.0012

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