Related papers: The Fundamentality of Fields
Several complications arise in quantum field theory because of the infinite many degrees of freedom. However, the distinction between one-particle and many-particle effects -- mainly induced by the vacuum -- is not clear up to now. A field…
A method for describing charged relativistic Fermi fields is proposed, in which particles of opposite charges are treated equally and states with negative energy are excluded. The concept of charge quantum number is introduced. Fields of…
As a substitute for the current hypothesis of space-time continuity, we show the nature and the characteristics of a Schild's discrete space-time. With the wave perturbations of its metrical structure we formulate the working hypothesis…
Quantum physics is a linear theory, so it is somewhat puzzling that it can underlie very complex systems such as digital computers and life. This paper investigates how this is possible. Physically, such complex systems are necessarily…
We do a critical review of the Faraday-Maxwell concept of classical field and of its quantization process. With the hindsight knowledge of the essentially quantum character of the interactions, we use a naive classical model of field, based…
We provide a short introduction to the main features of the algebraic approach to quantum field theories.
This simple analysis shows that photon-like particles are not strange within the conceptual framework of the classical electromagnetic field theory. Circular polarized waves lead to photons. Thus, light quantum hypothesis is not necessary.
Phase spaces with nontrivial geometry appear in different approaches to quantum gravity and can also play a role in e.g. condensed matter physics. However, so far such phase spaces have only been considered for particles or strings. We…
The reader surely knows what particles physics is about: finding building blocks of nature that appear elementary at a given time and study their interactions - so why in the world this essay? The problem is how to arrive at a fundamental…
This is a translation into English of my Masters thesis (hovedoppgave) from 1991. The main topic of the thesis is the relation between fundamental physics and philosophy, and a discussion of several possible ontologies of quantum field…
We argue that the conventional quantum field theory in curved spacetime has a grave drawback: The canonical commutation relations for quantum fields and conjugate momenta do not hold. Thus the conventional theory should be denounced and the…
In this chapter I discuss the impact of concepts of Quantum Field Theory in modern Condensed Physics. Although the interplay between these two areas is certainly not new, the impact and mutual cross-fertilization has certainly grown…
The spherical field formalism---a nonperturbative approach to quantum field theory---was recently introduced and applied to phi^4 theory in two dimensions. The spherical field method reduces a quantum field theory to a finite-dimensional…
Present day physics rests on two main pillars: General relativity and quantum field theory. We discuss the deep and at the same time problematic interplay between these two theories. Based on an argument by Doplicher, Fredenhagen, and…
The first free comprehensive textbook on quantum (and classical) field theory. The approach is pragmatic, rather than traditional or artistic: It includes practical techniques, such as the 1/N expansion (color ordering) and spacecone…
The problem of measurement in quantum mechanics is that the quantum particle in the course of evolution, as described by the linear Schrodinger equation, exists in all of its possible states, but in measuring, the particle is always…
There are still no interacting models of the Wightman axioms, suggesting that the axioms are too tightly drawn. Here a weakening of linearity for quantum fields is proposed, with the algebra still linear but with the quantum fields no…
The Standard Model of the electroweak and strong interactions of particle physics is a quantum field theory. Elementary particles are not indivisible `pieces' of matter but energy bundles of fields, whose properties and interactions are a…
Functionals (i.e. functions of functions) are widely used in quantum field theory and solid-state physics. In this paper, functionals are given a rigorous mathematical framework and their main properties are described. The choice of the…
String field theory is supposed to stand to perturbative string theory as quantum field theory stands to single-particle quantum theory; as such, it purports to offer a substantially more general and powerful perspective on string theory…