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arXiv:hep-th/9805060 · Physical review. D/Physical review. D.

Initial value problem in quantum field theory: An Application to the relativistic scalar plasma

Érica Regina Takano Natti, A. F. R. de Toledo Piza, Lin, Chi-Yong, Natti, Paulo Laerte

Published Jan 1, 1998• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

A framework to describe the real-time evolution of interacting fermion-scalar field models is set up. On the basis of the general dynamics of the fields, we derive formal equations of kinetic-type to the set of one-body dynamical variables. A time-dependent projection technique is used then to generate a nonperturbative mean-field expansion leading to a set of self-consistent equations of motion for these observable, where the lowest order corresponds to the Gaussian approximation. As an application, we consider an uniform system of relativistic spin-1/2 fermion field coupled, through a Yukawa term, to a scalar field in 3+1 dimensions, known as quantum scalar plasma. The renormalizability for the Gaussian mean-field equations, both static and dynamical, are examined and initial conditions discussed. We also investigate solutions for the gap equation and show that the energy density has a single minimum.

DOI
10.13140/rg.2.2.12283.37929

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A framework to describe the real-time evolution of interacting fermion-scalar field models is set up. On the basis of the general dynamics of the fields, we derive formal equations of kinetic-type to the set of one-body dynamical variables. A time-dependent projection technique is used then to generate a nonperturbative mean-field expansion leading to a set of self-consistent equations of motion for these observable, where the lowest order corresponds to the Gaussian approximation. As an application, we consider an uniform system of relativistic spin-1/2 fermion field coupled, through a Yukawa term, to a scalar field in 3+1 dimensions, known as quantum scalar plasma. The renormalizability for the Gaussian mean-field equations, both static and dynamical, are examined and initial conditions discussed. We also investigate solutions for the gap equation and show that the energy density has a single minimum.
A time-dependent projection technique is used to treat the initial-value problem for self-interacting fermionic fields. On the basis of the general dynamics of the fields, we derive formal equations of kinetic-type for the set of one-body dynamical variables. A nonperturbative mean-field expansion can be written for these equations. We treat this expansion in lowest order, which corresponds to the Gaussian mean-field approximation, for a uniform system described by the chiral Gross-Neveu Hamiltonian. Standard stationary features of the model, such as dynamical mass generation due to chiral symmetry breaking and a phenomenon analogous to dimensional transmutation, are reobtained in this context. The mean-field time evolution of nonequilibrium initial states is discussed.
The time evolution of quantum many body systems in the relativistic quantum field theory is studied. We use Shibata-Hashitsume’s projection operator method which gives a systematic expansion of the Heisenberg equation of motion in terms of the interaction Hamiltonian. We calculate the time evolution of expectation values of creation and annihilation operators in a renormalizable model with unstable particles in a vacuum and in a medium. It is shown how to renormalize the ultraviolet divergences appearing in the equation of motion and calculate the medium effects on the time evolution. The mass and the wavefunction renormalizations are carried out in the lowest order. We find that the results coincide with the on-mass-shell values of the self-energy and its derivative which are calculated by the usual Feynman rule. We also discuss the initial divergence which remains at the initial time after mass renormalization. It is suggested that the projection operator method can be applied to the relativistic quantum field theory.
Boltzmann equations are often used to study the thermal evolution of particle reaction networks. Prominent examples are the computation of the baryon asymmetry of the universe and the evolution of the quark-gluon plasma after a relativistic heavy ion collision. However, Boltzmann equations are only a classical approximation of the quantum thermalization process which is described by the so-called Kadanoff-Baym equations. This raises the question how reliable Boltzmann equations are as approximations to the full Kadanoff-Baym equations. Therefore, we present in this thesis a detailed comparison of Boltzmann and Kadanoff-Baym equations in the framework of relativistic quantum field theories in 3+1 space-time dimensions. In a first step, for simplicity we consider a real scalar Phi^4 quantum field theory and in a second step we generalize our results to a chirally invariant Yukawa-type quantum field theory including fermions. The obtained numerical solutions reveal significant discrepancies in the results predicted by both types of equations. Apart from quantitative discrepancies, on a qualitative level the universality respected by Kadanoff-Baym equations is severely restricted in the case of Boltzmann equations. Furthermore, Kadanoff-Baym equations strongly separate the time scales between kinetic and chemical equilibration. This separation of time scales is absent for Boltzmann equations.
The Wigner function is a well-known phase space distribution function with many applications in quantum mechanics. In this article, we consider an open quantum system consisting of a non-relativistic single particle interacting with a general, possibly relativistic environment. For this system, we derive an expression for directly computing the time-dependent Wigner function from its initial values. This result renders time-dependent Wigner functions more applicable without having to make additional approximations that would otherwise be required in order to solve the corresponding equation of motion. As an illustration of our findings, we discuss the example of a non-relativistic single scalar particle interacting via a Yukawa interaction with an environment comprising another type of scalar field that is treated relativistically.
This thesis is about the derivation of effective mean field equations and their next-order corrections starting from nonrelativistic many-body quantum theory. Mean field equations provide an approximate ansatz for the description of interacting many-particle systems. In this ansatz the interaction between the particles is replaced by a self-consistent external potential leading to an effective one-body description of the many-particle system. Next-order corrections provide an approximation which goes one step further and tries to capture also subleading effects that are not resolved by the mean field ansatz. We present mathematical proofs for the validity of such effective theories for different models that are motivated, e.g., from the theory of ultracold atoms (the bosonic Hartree equation and the corresponding Bogoliubov theory) and from plasma physics (the motion of a tracer particle through a degenerate and dense electron gas). Starting from a many-body Schrödinger equation, our goal is to show that the solutions converge in a particular limit to the solutions to an effective mean field equation and its next-order corrections. After a short introduction and a summary in Chapter one, we present the main part of this work in three self-contained chapters. In Chapter two we analyze the dynamics of a large number N of nonrelativistic bosons in the weak coupling limit, i.e., for a coupling constant g_N=1/N. It is well known that in the limit of infinite particle number, the Hartree equation emerges as an effective one-particle theory of the Bose gas. This is closely related to the remarkable physical phenomenon of Bose-Einstein condensation at low temperature, namely that the majority of particles in a Bose gas occupies the same copy of a single one-particle quantum state. Our emphasis lies in the description of the few particles that fluctuate around the Bose-Einstein condensate. We show convergence of the fully interacting dynamics to an auxiliary time evolution in the norm of the N-particle space. This result allows us to prove several other assertions. Among other things, it is used to derive the Hartree equation with optimal speed of convergence 1/N for initial states that are close to ground states of interacting systems and also to prove convergence of the N-particle solution towards a time evolution obtained from the Bogoliubov Hamiltonian on Fock space. Chapter three is about the low energy properties of the weakly interacting homogeneous Bose gas. Here, we derive a novel estimate for low energy eigenfunctions stating that the probability for finding lll particles out of their total number N not in the condensate is exponentially small in the number lll. Using this bound, we then prove that the ground state wave function of the microscopic model satisfies certain quasifree type properties. The exponential decay is moreover used to provide an alternative proof for the validity of Bogoliubov's approximation for the low-lying energy eigenvalues. Bogoliubov theory states that the excitation energies of the Bose gas are given by excitations of free quasiparticles obeying an effective energy-momentum dispersion relation which is linear for small momentum. The linearity of the effective dispersion relation is an essential ingredient for the explanation of the superfluid character of the Bose gas. In Chapter four we study the time evolution of a single particle coupled through a pair potential to a dense and homogeneous ideal Fermi gas in two spatial dimensions. This type of model is well known in plasma physics where it is used to describe the energy loss of ions moving through a dense and degenerate electron gas. We analyze the model for a coupling parameter g=1 and prove closeness of the time evolution to an effective dynamics for large densities of the gas and for long time scales of the order of some power of the density. The effective dynamics is generated by the free Hamiltonian with a large but constant energy shift. To leading order, this energy shift is given by the spatially homogeneous mean field potential produced by the gas particles, whereas at next-to-leading order, one has to consider an additional correction to the mean field energy which is due to so-called recollision processes.