2,536 research outputs found
Causality and dispersion relations and the role of the S-matrix in the ongoing research
The adaptation of the Kramers-Kronig dispersion relations to the causal
localization structure of QFT led to an important project in particle physics,
the only one with a successful closure. The same cannot be said about the
subsequent attempts to formulate particle physics as a pure S-matrix project.
The feasibility of a pure S-matrix approach are critically analyzed and their
serious shortcomings are highlighted. Whereas the conceptual/mathematical
demands of renormalized perturbation theory are modest and misunderstandings
could easily be corrected, the correct understanding about the origin of the
crossing property requires the use of the mathematical theory of modular
localization and its relation to the thermal KMS condition. These new concepts,
which combine localization, vacuum polarization and thermal properties under
the roof of modular theory, will be explained and their potential use in a new
constructive (nonperturbative) approach to QFT will be indicated. The S-matrix
still plays a predominant role but, different from Heisenberg's and
Mandelstam's proposals, the new project is not a pure S-matrix approach. The
S-matrix plays a new role as a "relative modular invariant"..Comment: 47 pages expansion of arguments and addition of references,
corrections of misprints and bad formulation
Comment on: Modular Theory and Geometry
In this note we comment on part of a recent article by B. Schroer and H.-W.
Wiesbrock. Therein they calculate some new modular structure for the
U(1)-current-algebra (Weyl-algebra). We point out that their findings are true
in a more general setting. The split-property allows an extension to
doubly-localized algebras.Comment: 13 pages, corrected versio
Probability distributions of smeared quantum stress tensors
We obtain in closed form the probability distribution for individual
measurements of the stress-energy tensor of two-dimensional conformal field
theory in the vacuum state, smeared in time against a Gaussian test function.
The result is a shifted Gamma distribution with the shift given by the
previously known optimal quantum inequality bound. For small values of the
central charge it is overwhelmingly likely that individual measurements of the
sampled energy density in the vacuum give negative results. For the case of a
single massless scalar field, the probability of finding a negative value is
84%. We also report on computations for four-dimensional massless scalar fields
showing that the probability distribution of the smeared square field is also a
shifted Gamma distribution, but that the distribution of the energy density is
not.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure. Minor edits implemente
The paradigm of the area law and the structure of transversal and longitudinal lightfront degrees of freedom
It is shown that an algebraically defined holographic projection of a QFT
onto the lightfront changes the local quantum properties in a very drastic way.
The expected ubiquitous vacuum polarization characteristic of QFT is confined
to the lightray (longitudinal) direction, whereas operators whose localization
is transversely separated are completely free of vacuum correlations. This
unexpected ''transverse return to QM'' combined with the rather universal
nature of the strongly longitudinal correlated vacuum correlations (which turn
out to be described by rather kinematical chiral theories) leads to a d-2
dimensional area structure of the d-1 dimensional lightfront theory. An
additive transcription in terms of an appropriately defined entropy related to
the vacuum restricted to the horizon is proposed and its model independent
universality aspects which permit its interpretation as a quantum candidate for
Bekenstein's area law are discussed. The transverse tensor product foliation
structure of lightfront degrees of freedom is essential for the simplifying
aspects of the algebraic lightcone holography. Key-words: Quantum field theory;
Mathematical physics, Quantum gravityComment: 16 pages latex, identical to version published in JPA: Math. Gen. 35
(2002) 9165-918
The H\"older Inequality for KMS States
We prove a H\"older inequality for KMS States, which generalises a well-known
trace-inequality. Our results are based on the theory of non-commutative
-spaces.Comment: 10 page
Semicausal operations are semilocalizable
We prove a conjecture by DiVincenzo, which in the terminology of Preskill et
al. [quant-ph/0102043] states that ``semicausal operations are
semilocalizable''. That is, we show that any operation on the combined system
of Alice and Bob, which does not allow Bob to send messages to Alice, can be
represented as an operation by Alice, transmitting a quantum particle to Bob,
and a local operation by Bob. The proof is based on the uniqueness of the
Stinespring representation for a completely positive map. We sketch some of the
problems in transferring these concepts to the context of relativistic quantum
field theory.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, revte
Nonlinear Quantum Mechanics and Locality
It is shown that, in order to avoid unacceptable nonlocal effects, the free
parameters of the general Doebner-Goldin equation have to be chosen such that
this nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation becomes Galilean covariant.Comment: 10 pages, no figures, also available on
http://www.pt.tu-clausthal.de/preprints/asi-tpa/012-97.htm
Relational interpretation of the wave function and a possible way around Bell's theorem
The famous ``spooky action at a distance'' in the EPR-szenario is shown to be
a local interaction, once entanglement is interpreted as a kind of ``nearest
neighbor'' relation among quantum systems. Furthermore, the wave function
itself is interpreted as encoding the ``nearest neighbor'' relations between a
quantum system and spatial points. This interpretation becomes natural, if we
view space and distance in terms of relations among spatial points. Therefore,
``position'' becomes a purely relational concept. This relational picture leads
to a new perspective onto the quantum mechanical formalism, where many of the
``weird'' aspects, like the particle-wave duality, the non-locality of
entanglement, or the ``mystery'' of the double-slit experiment, disappear.
Furthermore, this picture cirumvents the restrictions set by Bell's
inequalities, i.e., a possible (realistic) hidden variable theory based on
these concepts can be local and at the same time reproduce the results of
quantum mechanics.Comment: Accepted for publication in "International Journal of Theoretical
Physics
Asymptotic completeness in a class of massless relativistic quantum field theories
This paper presents the first examples of massless relativistic quantum field
theories which are interacting and asymptotically complete. These
two-dimensional theories are obtained by an application of a deformation
procedure, introduced recently by Grosse and Lechner, to chiral conformal
quantum field theories. The resulting models may not be strictly local, but
they contain observables localized in spacelike wedges. It is shown that the
scattering theory for waves in two dimensions, due to Buchholz, is still valid
under these weaker assumptions. The concepts of interaction and asymptotic
completeness, provided by this theory, are adopted in the present
investigation.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX. As appeared in Communications in Mathematical
Physic
Wide-Field Motion Integration in Fly VS Cells: Insights from an Inverse Approach
Fly lobula plate tangential cells are known to perform wide-field motion integration. It is assumed that the shape of these neurons, and in particular the shape of the subclass of VS cells, is responsible for this type of computation. We employed an inverse approach to investigate the morphology-function relationship underlying wide-field motion integration in VS cells. In the inverse approach detailed, model neurons are optimized to perform a predefined computation: here, wide-field motion integration. We embedded the model neurons to be optimized in a biologically plausible model of fly motion detection to provide realistic inputs, and subsequently optimized model neuron with and without active conductances (gNa, gK, gK(Na)) along their dendrites to perform this computation. We found that both passive and active optimized model neurons perform well as wide-field motion integrators. In addition, all optimized morphologies share the same blueprint as real VS cells. In addition, we also found a recurring blueprint for the distribution of gK and gNa in the active models. Moreover, we demonstrate how this morphology and distribution of conductances contribute to wide-field motion integration. As such, by using the inverse approach we can predict the still unknown distribution of gK and gNa and their role in motion integration in VS cells
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