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Cambridge University Press eBooks

Physical Preliminaries

Felix Finster, Sebastian Kindermann, Jan‐Hendrik Treude

Published Oct 23, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We summarize some basics on quantum mechanics and relativity theory as needed in order to understand the physical content and context of the theory of causal fermion systems.
DOI
10.1017/9781009632638.004

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This chapter focuses on parts of the basic underlying quantum-mechanical structure which are critical to realizing the relativity and locality constraints discussed in the subsequent chapters. It begins with a review of the basic operator formalism underlying standard quantum mechanics, paying particular attention to dynamics (time evolution) and symmetries. The chapter then turns to the reformulation of quantum dynamics as a sum over histories (the ‘path-integral’ approach) due to Feynman and Dirac, which has enormous conceptual and technical utility in quantum field theory. Finally, the chapter considers those aspects of quantum scattering theory which are central in teasing out the intricate physical content of field theory.
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