Superluminal local operations in quantum field theory: A ping-pong ball test
Abstract
It is known that in quantum field theory, localized operations, e.g.\ given by unitary operators in local observable algebras, may lead to non-causal, or superluminal, state changes within their localization region. In this article, it is shown that both in quantum field theory as well as in classical relativistic field theory, there are localized operations which correspond to ``instantaneous'' spatial rotations (leaving the localization region invariant) leading to superluminal effects within the localization region. This shows that ``impossible measurement scenarios'' which have been investigated in the literature, and which rely on the presence of localized operations that feature superluminal effects within their localization region, do not only occur in quantum field theory, but also in classical field theory. This article is part of a Special Issue on the 'Physics of Time Travel' in the journal Universe, edited by A. Alonso-Serrano, S. Schuster, J. Santiago and M. Visser.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2308.16673,
title = {Superluminal local operations in quantum field theory: A ping-pong ball test},
author = {Albert Much and Rainer Verch},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2308.16673},
year = {2024}
}
Comments
v2 (revised version): Reference added, some parts of notation improved. This version agrees with the journal publication. As the journal publication is affected by some editing problems, the revised arXiv version is recommended instead