Dynamic coarse-graining approach to quantum field theory
Abstract
We build quantum field theory on the thermodynamic master equation for dissipative quantum systems. The vacuum is represented by a thermodynamic equilibrium state in the low-temperature limit. All regularization is consistently provided by a friction mechanism; with decreasing friction parameter, only degrees of freedom on shorter and shorter length scales are damped out of a quantum field theory. No divergent integrals need to be manipulated. Renormalization occurs as a tool to refine perturbation expansions, not to remove divergences. Relativistic covariance is recovered in the final results. We illustrate the proposed thermodynamic approach to quantum fields for the phi^4 theory by calculating the propagator and the beta function, and we offer some suggestions on its application to gauge theories.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1008.1867,
title = {Dynamic coarse-graining approach to quantum field theory},
author = {Hans Christian Öttinger},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1008.1867},
year = {2018}
}
Comments
Expansion of the previous letter version to a fully detailed paper; 22 pages, 3 figures