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arXiv:quant-ph/0111027

Classical nonlocal models for states of the quantized real Klein-Gordon field

Peter Morgan

Published Nov 5, 2001• 1 citation
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Abstract

Classical nonlocal field models consisting of probability densities over functions defined everywhere on Minkowski space are constructed, using functional methods. These models are equivalent to states of the quantized real Klein-Gordon field in the sense that the marginal probability density over real functions defined everywhere on a 3-dimensional hyperplane S, at all times and for all Lorentz boosts, is equal to the corresponding probability density over real functions on S that is given by a state of the quantized real Klein-Gordon field. This paper establishes a relationship between quantum field theory and classical statistical field theory different from the well-known relationship of analytic continuation. 1

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Classical nonlocal field models consisting of probability densities over functions defined everywhere on Minkowski space are constructed, using functional methods. These models are equivalent to states of the quantized real Klein-Gordon field in the sense that the marginal probability density over real functions defined everywhere on a 3-dimensional hyperplane S, at all times and for all Lorentz boosts, is equal to the corresponding probability density over real functions on S that is given by a state of the quantized real Klein-Gordon field. This paper establishes a relationship between quantum field theory and classical statistical field theory different from the well-known relationship of analytic continuation. 1
A classical statistical field theory hidden variable model for the quantized Klein-Gordon model is constructed that preserves relativistic signal locality and is relativistically covariant, but is at the same time relativistically nonlocal, paralleling the Hegerfeldt nonlocality of quantum theory. It is argued that the relativistic nonlocality of this model is acceptable to classical physics, but in any case the approach taken here characterizes the nonlocality of the quantized Klein-Gordon model in terms of concepts from classical statistical field theory.
We use the formulation of the quantum mechanics of first quantized Klein-Gordon fields given in the first of this series of papers to study relativistic coherent states. In particular, we offer an explicit construction of coherent states for both charged and neutral (real) free Klein-Gordon fields as well as for charged fields interacting with a constant magnetic field. Our construction is free from the problems associated with charge-superselection rule that complicated the previous studies. We compute various physical quantities associated with our coherent states and present a detailed investigation of their classical (nonquantum) and nonrelativistic limits. 1
Abstract The purpose of this article is to construct an explicit relation between the field operators in Quantum Field Theory and the relevant operators in Quantum Mechanics for a system of N identical particles, which are the symmetrised functions of the canonical operators of position and momentum, thus providing a clear relation between Quantum Field Theory and Quantum Mechanics. This is achieved in the context of the non-interacting Klein–Gordon field. Though this procedure may not be extendible to interacting field theories, since it relies crucially on particle number conservation, we find it nevertheless important that such an explicit relation can be found at least for free fields. It also comes out that whatever statistics the field operators obey (either commuting or anticommuting), the position and momentum operators obey commutation relations. The construction of position operators raises the issue of localizability of particles in Relativistic Quantum Mechanics, as the position operator for a single particle turns out to be the Newton–Wigner position operator. We make some clarifications on the interpretation of Newton–Wigner localized states and we consider the transformation properties of position operators under Lorentz transformations, showing that they do not transform as tensors, rather in a manner that preserves the canonical commutation relations. From a complex Klein–Gordon field, position and momentum operators can be constructed for both particles and antiparticles.
For classical field theories with probabilistic initial conditions the classical field observables are an idealization. Their arbitrarily precise values poorly reflect the characteristic uncertainty in the presence of substantial fluctuations. We propose to employ observables based on fluctuating fields. In terms of these "statistical observables" the probabilistic classical field theory becomes a quantum field theory. Non-commuting operators are associated to observables. The quantum rules follow from the laws for classical probabilities. The ``quantum'' is part of the ``classical''. A regularized functional integral guarantees the unitarity of the quantum field theory. We discuss in detail the classical relativistic Klein-Gordon equation with interactions.
In this chapter, we investigate the Dirac equation, which is named after P. A. M. Dirac, who is one of the fathers of quantum field theory. The Dirac equation is a relativistic quantum mechanical wave equation for spin-1/2 particles (e.g. electrons), which was derived by Dirac in 1928. The difficulties in finding a consistent single-particle theory from the Klein–Gordon equation led Dirac to search for an equation that had a positive-definite conserved probability density and was first order both in time and space. One can show that these two conditions imply that a matrix equation is required. The reason why the Klein–Gordon equation did not yield a positive-definite probability density is connected with the second-order time derivative in this equation, which arises because the Klein–Gordon equation is related to the relativistic energy–momentum relation E 2 = m 2 + p 2 via the correspondence principle that includes a term E 2 . Thus, a ‘better’ Lorentz covariant wave equation with a positive-definite probability density should have a first-order time derivative only. However, the equivalence of time and space coordinates in Minkowski space requires that such an equation also have only first-order space derivatives.