Related papers: Is Quantum Field Theory ontologically interpretabl…
We put forward an interpretation of scalar quantum field theory as relativistic quantum mechanics by curing well known problems related to locality. A probabilistic interpretation of quantum field theory similar to quantum mechanics is…
Several recent arguments purport to show that there can be no relativistic, quantum-mechanical theory of localizable particles and, thus, that relativity and quantum mechanics can be reconciled only in the context of quantum field theory.…
The nature and properties of the vacuum as well as the meaning and localization properties of one or many particle states have attracted a fair amount of attention and stirred up sometimes heated debate in relativistic quantum field theory…
We review the issue of localization in quantum field theory and detail the nonrelativistic limit. Three distinct localization schemes are examined: the Newton-Wigner, the algebraic quantum field theory, and the modal scheme. Among these,…
A number of arguments purport to show that quantum field theory cannot be given an interpretation in terms of localizable particles. We show, in light of such arguments, that the classical $\hbar\to 0$ limit can aid our understanding of the…
Can a relativistic quantum field theory be consistently described as a theory of localizable particles? There are many known issues with such a description, indicating an answer in the negative. In this paper, we examine these obstructions…
Constructing observables that describe the localization of relativistic particles is an important foundational problem in relativistic quantum field theory (QFT). The description of localization in terms of single-time observables leads to…
We present a fully relativistic model for localized probes in quantum field theory. Furthermore, we show that it is possible to obtain particle detector models from localized quantum field theories that interact with a free quantum field.…
Many of the "counterintuitive" features of relativistic quantum field theory have their formal root in the Reeh-Schlieder theorem, which in particular entails that local operations applied to the vacuum state can produce any state of the…
Electromagnetism is the paradigm case of a theory that satisfies relativistic locality. This can be proven by demonstrating that, once the theory's laws are imposed, what is happening within a region fixes what will happen in the…
The formulation of a consistent measurement theory for relativistic quantum fields has become a problem of growing foundational and practical significance. Standard non-relativistic measurement models fail to incorporate the essential…
We investigate whether commutativity is necessary to represent relativistic locality for localization observables of relativistic quantum systems in Minkowski spacetime. A well known no-go theorem by Halvorson and Clifton shows that…
This paper is a contribution to the problem of particle localization in non-relativistic Quantum Mechanics. Our main results will be (1) to formulate the problem of localization in terms of invariant subspaces of the Hilbert space, and (2)…
Localized states in relativistic quantum field theories are usually considered as problematic, because of their seemingly strange (non covariant) behavior under Lorentz transformations, and because they can spread faster than light. We…
Despite its name, Quantum Field Theory (QFT) has been built to describe interactions between localizable particles. For this reason the actual formalism of QFT is partly based on a suitable generalization of the one already used for systems…
We study the problem of localization in Quantum Field Theory (QFT) from the point of view of inertial and accelerated experimenters. We consider the Newton-Wigner, the Algebraic Quantum Field Theory (AQFT) and the modal localization…
We comment on the present status, the concepts and their limitations, and the successes and open problems of the various approaches to a relativistic quantum theory of elementary particles, with a hindsight to questions concerning quantum…
Philosophical reflection on quantum field theory has tended to focus on how it revises our conception of what a particle is. However, there has been relatively little discussion of the threat to the "reality" of particles posed by the…
Does the measurement of a quantum system necessarily break Lorentz invariance? We present a simple model of a detector that measures the spacetime localization of a relativistic particle in a Lorentz invariant manner. The detector does not…
Bell appealed to the theory of relativity in formulating his principle of local causality. But he maintained that quantum field theories do not conform to that principle, even when their field equations are relativistically covariant and…