Related papers: Analogies in theoretical physics
Statistical physics has proven to be a very fruitful framework to describe phenomena outside the realm of traditional physics. The last years have witnessed the attempt by physicists to study collective phenomena emerging from the…
Making meaning with math in physics requires blending physical conceptual knowledge with mathematical symbology. Students in introductory physics classes often struggle with this, but it is an essential component of learning how to think…
Dynamical similarities are non-standard symmetries found in a wide range of physical systems that identify solutions related by a change of scale. In this paper we will show through a series of examples how this symmetry extends to the…
Measurements play a crucial role in doing physics: Their results provide the basis on which we adopt or reject physical theories. In this note, we examine the effect of subjecting measurements themselves to our experience. We require that…
With an eye on developing a quantum theory of gravity, many physicists have recently searched for quantum challenges to the equivalence principle of general relativity. However, as historians and philosophers of science are well aware, the…
The study of nonlinear phenomena in systems with many degrees of freedom often relies on complex numerical simulations. In trying to model realistic situations, these systems may be coupled to an external environment which drives their…
We set up a covariant renormalisation group equation on a foliated spacetime which preserves background diffeomorphism symmetry. As a first application of the new formalism, we study the effect of quantum fluctuations in Lorentz symmetry…
Gravitoelectromagnetic analogies are somewhat ubiquitous in General Relativity, and they are often used to explain peculiar effects of Einstein's theory of gravity in terms of familiar results from classical electromagnetism. Perhaps, the…
Atomic experiments bring meaningful and valuable information on fundamental symmetries. The hypothesis of a large ($\sim 100$ eV) P-odd weak matrix element between single-particle states in heavy nuclei is inconsistent with the results of…
Quantum mechanics is 'emergent' if a statistical treatment of large scale phenomena in a locally deterministic theory requires the use of quantum operators. These quantum operators may allow for symmetry transformations that are not present…
Due to the fact that only matter fields have phase, frequently is believed that the gauge principle can induce gauge fields only in quantum systems. But this is not necessary. This paper, of pedagogical scope, presents a classical system…
Classical algebraic structures require exact satisfaction of their defining axioms. We propose similarity algebra, a framework extending algebraic and Lie structures to settings where operations satisfy quantitative bounds up to a tolerance…
The famous equivalence theorem is reexamined in order to make it applicable to the case of intrinsically quantum infinite-component effective theories. We slightly modify the formulation of this theorem and prove it basing on the notion of…
We derive exact expressions for the scalar and electromagnetic self-forces and self-torques acting on arbitrary static extended bodies in arbitrary static spacetimes with any number of dimensions. Non-perturbatively, our results are…
The relation between renormalization and short distance singular divergencies in quantum field theory is studied. As a consequence a finite theory is presented. It is shown that these divergencies are originated by the multiplication of…
While it is possible to find examples of field theories with a spontaneously broken symmetry at high temperature, in renormalizable supersymmetric models any internal symmetry gets always restored. Recently, a counterexample was suggested…
Spontaneous symmetry breaking is a cornerstone of modern physics, defining a wealth of phenomena in condensed-matter and high-energy physics, and beyond. It requires an infinite number of degrees of freedom, and even then, for continuous…
In this article, the notion of a mathematical model in science is attempted to be enlightened from several points of view. In particular, it is shown that mathematical models are introduced differently and used differently in different…
In physics, Feynman diagrams are used to reason about quantum processes. In the 1980s, it became clear that underlying these diagrams is a powerful analogy between quantum physics and topology: namely, a linear operator behaves very much…
While supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model can be fully described in terms of explicitly broken global supersymmetry, this description is only effective. Once related to spontaneous breaking in a more fundamental theory, the…