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arXiv:hep-th/9507107 · Physical review. D. Particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology/Physical review. D. Particles and fields

Generalized quantum mechanics of non-Abelian gauge theories

John T. Whelan

Published Mar 15, 1996• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Hartle's generalized quantum mechanics in the sum-over-histories formalism is used to describe a non-Abelian gauge theory. Predictions are made for certain alternatives, with particular attention given to coarse grainings involving the constraint. In this way, the theory is compared to other quantum-mechanical descriptions of gauge theories in which the constraints are imposed by hand. The vanishing of the momentum space constraint is seen to hold, both through a simple formal argument and via a more careful description of the Lorentzian path integral as defined on a spacetime lattice. The configuration space realization of the constraint is shown to behave in a more complicated fashion. For some coarse grainings, we recover the known result from an Abelian theory, that coarse grainings by values of the constraint either predict its vanishing or fail to decohere. However, sets of alternatives defined in terms of a more complicated quantity in the Abelian case are exhibited where definite predictions can be made which disagree with the assumption that the constraints vanish. Finally, the configuration space sum-over-histories theory is exhibited in a manifestly Lorentz-invariant formulation.

DOI
10.1103/physrevd.53.3118

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Hartle's generalized quantum mechanics in the sum-over-histories formalism is used to describe a non-Abelian gauge theory. Predictions are made for certain alternatives, with particular attention given to coarse grainings involving the constraint. In this way, the theory is compared to other quantum-mechanical descriptions of gauge theories in which the constraints are imposed by hand. The vanishing of the momentum space constraint is seen to hold, both through a simple formal argument and via a more careful description of the Lorentzian path integral as defined on a spacetime lattice. The configuration space realization of the constraint is shown to behave in a more complicated fashion. For some coarse grainings, we recover the known result from an Abelian theory, that coarse grainings by values of the constraint either predict its vanishing or fail to decohere. However, sets of alternatives defined in terms of a more complicated quantity in the Abelian case are exhibited where definite predictions can be made which disagree with the assumption that the constraints vanish. Finally, the configuration space sum-over-histories theory is exhibited in a manifestly Lorentz-invariant formulation.
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