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Quantum field theory for classical fields

Quantum Physics 2026-03-06 v1 High Energy Physics - Lattice High Energy Physics - Theory

Abstract

For classical field theories with probabilistic initial conditions the classical field observables are an idealization. Their arbitrarily precise values poorly reflect the characteristic uncertainty in the presence of substantial fluctuations. We propose to describe this system by observables based on fluctuating fields. In terms of these "statistical observables" the probabilistic classical field theory becomes a quantum field theory. Non-commuting operators are associated to observables. The quantum rules follow from the laws for classical probabilities. We construct the functional integral for the quantum field theory, and discuss in detail the classical relativistic Klein-Gordon equation with interactions.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2603.05061,
  title  = {Quantum field theory for classical fields},
  author = {Christof Wetterich},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.05061},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

5 pages

R2 v1 2026-07-01T11:04:44.172Z