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Sample records for bohr-sommerfeld quantum theory

  1. The Bohr-Sommerfeld atom theory. Sommerfeld's extension of Bohr's atomic model 1915/16; Die Bohr-Sommerfeldsche Atomtheorie. Sommerfelds Erweiterung des Bohrschen Atommodells 1915/16

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sommerfeld, Arnold

    2013-07-01

    In December 6th 1915 and January 8th 1916 Arnold Sommerfeld put the Bavarian Academy of Sciences two treatises in the amount of 75 printed pages before, by which he extended Bohr's atomic model from the year 1913 to the Bohr-Sommerfeld atom theory. In Sommerfeld's collected works only the publication submitted 1916 by Sommerfeld in the Annals of Physics about this is found.''My spectral lines are finally printed in the Academy to the impure. In the Annals they will appear in purer form'', so Sommerfeld has announced in this publication in February 10th 1916 to the editor of the Annals of Physics. From the science-historical view however for the extension of Bohr's atom theory just the Academy-treatises published before the purification process are of special interest. To the reproduction of these Academy-treatises an extensive physics-historical essay is prepended.

  2. How Sommerfeld extended Bohr's model of the atom (1913-1916)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eckert, Michael

    2014-04-01

    Sommerfeld's extension of Bohr's atomic model was motivated by the quest for a theory of the Zeeman and Stark effects. The crucial idea was that a spectral line is made up of coinciding frequencies which are decomposed in an applied field. In October 1914 Johannes Stark had published the results of his experimental investigation on the splitting of spectral lines in hydrogen (Balmer lines) in electric fields, which showed that the frequency of each Balmer line becomes decomposed into a multiplet of frequencies. The number of lines in such a decomposition grows with the index of the line in the Balmer series. Sommerfeld concluded from this observation that the quantization in Bohr's model had to be altered in order to allow for such decompositions. He outlined this idea in a lecture in winter 1914/15, but did not publish it. The First World War further delayed its elaboration. When Bohr published new results in autumn 1915, Sommerfeld finally developed his theory in a provisional form in two memoirs which he presented in December 1915 and January 1916 to the Bavarian Academy of Science. In July 1916 he published the refined version in the Annalen der Physik. The focus here is on the preliminary Academy memoirs whose rudimentary form is better suited for a historical approach to Sommerfeld's atomic theory than the finished Annalen-paper. This introductory essay reconstructs the historical context (mainly based on Sommerfeld's correspondence). It will become clear that the extension of Bohr's model did not emerge in a singular stroke of genius but resulted from an evolving process.

  3. Bohr--Sommerfeld Lagrangians of moduli spaces of Higgs bundles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Biswas, Indranil; Gammelgaard, Niels Leth; Logares, Marina

    Let $X$ be a compact connected Riemann surface of genus at least two. Let $M_H(r,d)$ denote the moduli space of semistable Higgs bundles on $X$ of rank $r$ and degree $d$. We prove that the compact complex Bohr-Sommerfeld Lagrangians of $M_H(r,d)$ are precisely the irreducible components of the n......Let $X$ be a compact connected Riemann surface of genus at least two. Let $M_H(r,d)$ denote the moduli space of semistable Higgs bundles on $X$ of rank $r$ and degree $d$. We prove that the compact complex Bohr-Sommerfeld Lagrangians of $M_H(r,d)$ are precisely the irreducible components...

  4. Why has the bohr-sommerfeld model of the atom been ignoredby general chemistry textbooks?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niaz, Mansoor; Cardellini, Liberato

    2011-12-01

    Bohr's model of the atom is considered to be important by general chemistry textbooks. A major shortcoming of this model was that it could not explain the spectra of atoms containing more than one electron. In order to increase the explanatory power of the model, Sommerfeld hypothesized the existence of elliptical orbits. This study has the following objectives: 1) Formulation of criteria based on a history and philosophy of science framework; and 2) Evaluation of university-level general chemistry textbooks based on the criteria, published in Italy and U.S.A. Presentation of a textbook was considered to be "satisfactory" if it included a description of the Bohr-Sommerfeld model along with diagrams of the elliptical orbits. Of the 28 textbooks published in Italy that were analyzed, only five were classified as "satisfactory". Of the 46 textbooks published in U.S.A., only three were classified as "satisfactory". This study has the following educational implications: a) Sommerfeld's innovation (auxiliary hypothesis) by introducing elliptical orbits, helped to restore the viability of Bohr's model; b) Bohr-Sommerfeld's model went no further than the alkali metals, which led scientists to look for other models; c) This clearly shows that scientific models are tentative in nature; d) Textbook authors and chemistry teachers do not consider the tentative nature of scientific knowledge to be important; e) Inclusion of the Bohr-Sommerfeld model in textbooks can help our students to understand how science progresses.

  5. Reconstructing Bohr's Reply to EPR in Algebraic Quantum Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozawa, Masanao; Kitajima, Yuichiro

    2012-04-01

    Halvorson and Clifton have given a mathematical reconstruction of Bohr's reply to Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen (EPR), and argued that this reply is dictated by the two requirements of classicality and objectivity for the description of experimental data, by proving consistency between their objectivity requirement and a contextualized version of the EPR reality criterion which had been introduced by Howard in his earlier analysis of Bohr's reply. In the present paper, we generalize the above consistency theorem, with a rather elementary proof, to a general formulation of EPR states applicable to both non-relativistic quantum mechanics and algebraic quantum field theory; and we clarify the elements of reality in EPR states in terms of Bohr's requirements of classicality and objectivity, in a general formulation of algebraic quantum theory.

  6. Classical quantum theory of wobbling modes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Onishi, Naoki

    1986-01-01

    Wobbling modes are studied extensively in terms of time-dependent variational theory. Quantum states and their energies are determined by the Bohr-Sommerfeld rule of classical quantization. Numerical calculations are performed for states of 166 Er with vertical strokejvertical stroke=30-40 (h/2π). (orig.)

  7. Development by Niels Bohr of the quantum theory of the atom and of the correspondence principle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El'yashevich, M.A.

    1985-01-01

    Bohr's investigations in 1912-1923 on the quantum theory of atoms are considered. The sources of N. Bohr's works on this subject are analyzed, and the beginning of his quantum research in 1912 is described. A detailed analysis is given of N. Bohr's famous paper on the hydrogen atom theory and on the origin of spectra. The further development of Bohr's ideas on atomic structure is considered, special attention is being payed to his postulates of stationary states and of radiation transitions and to the development of the correspondence principle. It is shown how well N. Bohr understood the difficulties of the model theory and how be tried to obtain a deep understanding of quantum phenomena

  8. Intrinsic irreversibility in quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prigogine, I.; Petrosky, T.Y.

    1987-01-01

    Quantum theory has a dual structure: while solutions of the Schroedinger equation evolve in a deterministic and time reversible way, measurement introduces irreversibility and stochasticity. This presents a contrast to Bohr-Sommerfeld-Einstein theory, in which transitions between quantum states are associated with spontaneous and induced transitions, defined in terms of stochastic processes. A new form of quantum theory is presented here, which contains an intrinsic form of irreversibility, independent of observation. This new form applies to situations corresponding to a continuous spectrum and to quantum states with finite life time. The usual non-commutative algebra associated to quantum theory is replaced by more general algebra, in which operators are also non-distributive. Our approach leads to a number of predictions, which hopefully may be verified or refuted in the next years. (orig.)

  9. Bohr quantum theory of the magnetic monopoles and classical electron electromagnetic mass problem

    OpenAIRE

    Pankovic, Vladan

    2010-01-01

    In the first part of this work we apply Bohr (old or naive quantum atomic) theory for analysis of the remarkable electro-dynamical problem of magnetic monopoles. We reproduce formally exactly some basic elements of the Dirac magnetic monopoles theory, especially Dirac electric/magnetic charge quantization condition. It follows after application of Bohr theory at the system, simply called magnetic monopole "atom", consisting of the practically standing, massive magnetic monopole as the "nucleu...

  10. Hydrogen atom as test field of theoretical models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baiquni, A.

    1976-01-01

    Semi classical theory, covering Bohr atom theory, Bohr Sommerfeld theory, Sommerfeld relativistic theory, and quantum theory such as particle and complementarity dualism, wave mechanics, approximation method, relativistic quantum mechanics, and hydrogen atom fine structure, are discussed. (SMN)

  11. Creation and development of Bohr's theory (on the 90th anniversary of the Bohr theory of the atom)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Milant'ev, Vladimir P

    2004-01-01

    The history of the creation and development of Bohr's atomic theory is discussed. Even now, with a consistent quantum theory available, Bohr's theory is not simply the property of history, of methodological interest only. To this day, the ideas of the theory not only provide an excellent introduction to atomic physics, but are also used successfully in treating atomic Rydberg states, exotic atoms, etc. (from the history of physics)

  12. Reading Bohr physics and philosophy

    CERN Document Server

    Plotnitsky, Arkady

    2006-01-01

    Reading Bohr: Physics and Philosophy offers a new perspective on Niels Bohr's interpretation of quantum mechanics as complementarity, and on the relationships between physics and philosophy in Bohr's work, which has had momentous significance for our understanding of quantum theory and of the nature of knowledge in general. Philosophically, the book reassesses Bohr's place in the Western philosophical tradition, from Kant and Hegel on. Physically, it reconsiders the main issues at stake in the Bohr-Einstein confrontation and in the ongoing debates concerning quantum physics. It also devotes greater attention than in most commentaries on Bohr to the key developments and transformations of his thinking concerning complementarity. Most significant among them were those that occurred, first, under the impact of Bohr's exchanges with Einstein and, second, under the impact of developments in quantum theory itself, both quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. The importance of quantum field theory for Bohr's thi...

  13. Arnold Sommerfeld. Atomic physicist and messenger of culture 1868-1951. A biography; Arnold Sommerfeld. Atomphysiker und Kulturbote 1868-1951. Eine Biografie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eckert, Michael

    2013-09-01

    Arnold Sommerfeld is beside Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and Max Planck one of the founders of modern atomic and quantum theory. His career began in the 1890th years at the University of Goettingen, the world center of mathematics of that time. Since 1906 he created on the professorship for theoretical physics at the Munich university one of the most important schools of science, the students of which are well-known theorists of the atomic era like as the Nobel-price winners Hans Bethe, Peter Debye, Wolfgang Pauli, and Werner Heisenberg. He also developed far beyond his subject an unprecedented impact. He travelled as ''messenger of culture'' in many countries in order to advertise in the years after the first world war for the reputation of Germany as culture nation. By the nationalsocialism the Munich ''nursery of theoretical physics'' however was prepared an inglorious end, because Sommerfeld counted for a ''main propagandist of Jewish theories''. By the example of this life of a physicist also the eventful history of a whole subject.

  14. Love, literature and the quantum atom Niels Bohr's 1913 trilogy revisited

    CERN Document Server

    Aaserud, Finn

    2013-01-01

    Niels Bohr ranks with Einstein among the physicists of the 20th century. He rose to this status through his invention of the quantum theory of the atom and his leadership in its defense and development. He also ranks with Einstein in his humanism and his sense of responsibility to his science and the society that enabled him to create it. Our book presents unpublished excerpts from extensive correspondence between Bohr and his immediate family, and uses it to describe and analyze the psychological and cultural background to his invention. The book also contains a reprinting of the three papers of 1913 - the "Trilogy" - in which Bohr worked out the provisional basis of a quantum theory of the atom.

  15. Quantum-Classical Connection for Hydrogen Atom-Like Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Syam, Debapriyo; Roy, Arup

    2011-01-01

    The Bohr-Sommerfeld quantum theory specifies the rules of quantization for circular and elliptical orbits for a one-electron hydrogen atom-like system. This article illustrates how a formula connecting the principal quantum number "n" and the length of the major axis of an elliptical orbit may be arrived at starting from the quantum…

  16. Transferring and practicing the correspondence principle in the old quantum theory: Franck, Hund and the Ramsauer effect

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jaehnert, Martin [MPIWG, Berlin (Germany)

    2013-07-01

    In 1922 Niels Bohr wrote a letter to Arnold Sommerfeld complaining that: ''[i]n the last years my attempts to develop the principles of quantum theory were met with very little understanding.'' Looking for the correspondence idea in publications, one finds that the principle was indeed hardly applied by physicists outside of Copenhagen. Only by 1922 physicists from wider research networks of quantum theory started to transfer the principle into their research fields, often far removed from its initial realm of atomic spectroscopy. How and why did physicists suddenly become interested in the idea that Bohr*s writings had been promoting since 1918? How was the correspondence principle transferred to these fields and how did its transfer affect these fields and likewise the correspondence principle itself? To discuss these questions, my talk focuses on the work of James Franck and Friedrich Hund on the Ramsauer effect in 1922 and follows the interrelation of the developing understanding of a newly found effect and the adaptation of the correspondence idea in a new conceptual and sociological context.

  17. Arnold Sommerfeld. Atomic physicist and messenger of culture 1868-1951. A biography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eckert, Michael

    2013-01-01

    Arnold Sommerfeld is beside Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and Max Planck one of the founders of modern atomic and quantum theory. His career began in the 1890th years at the University of Goettingen, the world center of mathematics of that time. Since 1906 he created on the professorship for theoretical physics at the Munich university one of the most important schools of science, the students of which are well-known theorists of the atomic era like as the Nobel-price winners Hans Bethe, Peter Debye, Wolfgang Pauli, and Werner Heisenberg. He also developed far beyond his subject an unprecedented impact. He travelled as ''messenger of culture'' in many countries in order to advertise in the years after the first world war for the reputation of Germany as culture nation. By the nationalsocialism the Munich ''nursery of theoretical physics'' however was prepared an inglorious end, because Sommerfeld counted for a ''main propagandist of Jewish theories''. By the example of this life of a physicist also the eventful history of a whole subject.

  18. From correspondence to complementarity: The emergence of Bohr's Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanona, Scott Daniel

    I develop a new analysis of Niels Bohr's Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics by examining the development of his views from his earlier use of the correspondence principle in the so-called 'old quantum theory' to his articulation of the idea of complementarity in the context of the novel mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics. I argue that Bohr was motivated not by controversial and perhaps dispensable epistemological ideas---positivism or neo-Kantianism, for example---but by his own unique perspective on the difficulties of creating a new working physics of the internal structure of the atom. Bohr's use of the correspondence principle in the old quantum theory was associated with an empirical methodology that used this principle as an epistemological bridge to connect empirical phenomena with quantum models. The application of the correspondence principle required that one determine the validity of the idealizations and approximations necessary for the judicious use of classical physics within quantum theory. Bohr's interpretation of the new quantum mechanics then focused on the largely unexamined ways in which the developing abstract mathematical formalism is given empirical content by precisely this process of approximation. Significant consistency between his later interpretive framework and his forms of argument with the correspondence principle indicate that complementarity is best understood as a relationship among the various approximations and idealizations that must be made when one connects otherwise meaningless quantum mechanical symbols to empirical situations or 'experimental arrangements' described using concepts from classical physics. We discover that this relationship is unavoidable not through any sort of a priori analysis of the priority of classical concepts, but because quantum mechanics incorporates the correspondence approach in the way in which it represents quantum properties with matrices of transition probabilities, the

  19. Bohr's Creation of his Quantum Atom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heilbron, John

    2013-04-01

    Fresh letters throw new light on the content and state of Bohr's mind before and during his creation of the quantum atom. His mental furniture then included the atomic models of the English school, the quantum puzzles of Continental theorists, and the results of his own studies of the electron theory of metals. It also included the poetry of Goethe, plays of Ibsen and Shakespeare, novels of Dickens, and rhapsodies of Kierkegaard and Carlyle. The mind that held these diverse ingredients together oscillated between enthusiasm and dejection during the year in which Bohr took up the problem of atomic structure. He spent most of that year in England, which separated him for extended periods from his close-knit family and friends. Correspondence with his fianc'ee, Margrethe Nørlund, soon to be published, reports his ups and downs as he adjusted to J.J. Thomson, Ernest Rutherford, the English language, and the uneven course of his work. In helping to smooth out his moods, Margrethe played an important and perhaps an enabling role in his creative process.

  20. What is complementarity?: Niels Bohr and the architecture of quantum theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plotnitsky, Arkady

    2014-12-01

    This article explores Bohr’s argument, advanced under the heading of ‘complementarity,’ concerning quantum phenomena and quantum mechanics, and its physical and philosophical implications. In Bohr, the term complementarity designates both a particular concept and an overall interpretation of quantum phenomena and quantum mechanics, in part grounded in this concept. While the argument of this article is primarily philosophical, it will also address, historically, the development and transformations of Bohr’s thinking, under the impact of the development of quantum theory and Bohr’s confrontation with Einstein, especially their exchange concerning the EPR experiment, proposed by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen in 1935. Bohr’s interpretation was progressively characterized by a more radical epistemology, in its ultimate form, which was developed in the 1930s and with which I shall be especially concerned here, defined by his new concepts of phenomenon and atomicity. According to this epistemology, quantum objects are seen as indescribable and possibly even as inconceivable, and as manifesting their existence only in the effects of their interactions with measuring instruments upon those instruments, effects that define phenomena in Bohr’s sense. The absence of causality is an automatic consequence of this epistemology. I shall also consider how probability and statistics work under these epistemological conditions.

  1. What is complementarity?: Niels Bohr and the architecture of quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plotnitsky, Arkady

    2014-01-01

    This article explores Bohr’s argument, advanced under the heading of ‘complementarity,’ concerning quantum phenomena and quantum mechanics, and its physical and philosophical implications. In Bohr, the term complementarity designates both a particular concept and an overall interpretation of quantum phenomena and quantum mechanics, in part grounded in this concept. While the argument of this article is primarily philosophical, it will also address, historically, the development and transformations of Bohr’s thinking, under the impact of the development of quantum theory and Bohr’s confrontation with Einstein, especially their exchange concerning the EPR experiment, proposed by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen in 1935. Bohr’s interpretation was progressively characterized by a more radical epistemology, in its ultimate form, which was developed in the 1930s and with which I shall be especially concerned here, defined by his new concepts of phenomenon and atomicity. According to this epistemology, quantum objects are seen as indescribable and possibly even as inconceivable, and as manifesting their existence only in the effects of their interactions with measuring instruments upon those instruments, effects that define phenomena in Bohr’s sense. The absence of causality is an automatic consequence of this epistemology. I shall also consider how probability and statistics work under these epistemological conditions. (paper)

  2. Zweideutigkeit about "Zweideutigkeit": Sommerfeld, Pauli, and the methodological origins of quantum mechanics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seth, Suman

    In early 1925, Wolfgang Pauli (1900-1958) published the paper for which he is now most famous and for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1945. The paper detailed what we now know as his "exclusion principle." This essay situates the work leading up to Pauli's principle within the traditions of the "Sommerfeld School," led by Munich University's renowned theorist and teacher, Arnold Sommerfeld (1868-1951). Offering a substantial corrective to previous accounts of the birth of quantum mechanics, which have tended to sideline Sommerfeld's work, it is suggested here that both the method and the content of Pauli's paper drew substantially on the work of the Sommerfeld School in the early 1920s. Part One describes Sommerfeld's turn away from a faith in the power of model-based (modellmässig) methods in his early career towards the use of a more phenomenological emphasis on empirical regularities (Gesetzmässigkeiten) during precisely the period that both Pauli and Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976), among others, were his students. Part two delineates the importance of Sommerfeld's phenomenology to Pauli's methods in the exclusion principle paper, a paper that also eschewed modellmässig approaches in favour of a stress on Gesetzmässigkeiten. In terms of content, a focus on Sommerfeld's work reveals the roots of Pauli's understanding of the fundamental Zweideutigkeit (ambiguity) involving the quantum number of electrons within the atom. The conclusion points to the significance of these results to an improved historical understanding of the origin of aspects of Heisenberg's 1925 paper on the "Quantum-theoretical Reformulation (Umdeutung) of Kinematical and Mechanical Relations."

  3. Communication: Wigner functions in action-angle variables, Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization, the Heisenberg correspondence principle, and a symmetrical quasi-classical approach to the full electronic density matrix.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, William H; Cotton, Stephen J

    2016-08-28

    It is pointed out that the classical phase space distribution in action-angle (a-a) variables obtained from a Wigner function depends on how the calculation is carried out: if one computes the standard Wigner function in Cartesian variables (p, x), and then replaces p and x by their expressions in terms of a-a variables, one obtains a different result than if the Wigner function is computed directly in terms of the a-a variables. Furthermore, the latter procedure gives a result more consistent with classical and semiclassical theory-e.g., by incorporating the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization condition (quantum states defined by integer values of the action variable) as well as the Heisenberg correspondence principle for matrix elements of an operator between such states-and has also been shown to be more accurate when applied to electronically non-adiabatic applications as implemented within the recently developed symmetrical quasi-classical (SQC) Meyer-Miller (MM) approach. Moreover, use of the Wigner function (obtained directly) in a-a variables shows how our standard SQC/MM approach can be used to obtain off-diagonal elements of the electronic density matrix by processing in a different way the same set of trajectories already used (in the SQC/MM methodology) to obtain the diagonal elements.

  4. Theory of superfluidity macroscopic quantum waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ventura, I.

    1978-10-01

    A new description of superfluidity is proposed, based upon the fact that Bogoliubov's theory of superfluidity exhibits some so far unsuspected macroscopic quantum waves (MQWs), which have a topological nature and travel within the fluid at subsonic velocities. To quantize the bounded quasi-particles the field theoretic version of the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule, is employed and also resort to a variational computation. In an instantaneous configuration the MQWs cut the condensate into blocks of phase, providing, by analogy with ferromagnetism, a nice explanation of what could be the lambda-transition. A crude estimate of the critical temperature gives T sub(c) approximately equal to 2-4K. An attempt is made to understand Tisza's two-fluid model in terms of the MQWs, and we rise the conjecture that they play an important role in the motion of second. We present also a qualitative prediction concerning to the behavior of the 'phononroton' peak below 1.0K, and propose two experiments to look for MQWs [pt

  5. A tribute to Niels Bohr

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1985-01-01

    This report is organized around the contribution of A. Pais, 'Niels Bohr and the development of physics', presented at CERN on the occasion of a special colloquium in the honour of Niels Bohr. It gives a broad survey of Bohr's life, the revolution in physics created by his quantum theory and his attempts to influence the peaceful development of nuclear energy. (orig.)

  6. ODE/IM correspondence and the Argyres-Douglas theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ito, Katsushi; Shu, Hongfei

    2017-08-01

    We study the quantum spectral curve of the Argyres-Douglas theories in the Nekrasov-Sahashvili limit of the Omega-background. Using the ODE/IM correspondence we investigate the quantum integrable model corresponding to the quantum spectral curve. We show that the models for the A 2 N -type theories are non-unitary coset models ( A 1)1 × ( A 1) L /( A 1) L+1 at the fractional level L=2/2N+1-2 , which appear in the study of the 4d/2d correspondence of N = 2 superconformal field theories. Based on the WKB analysis, we clarify the relation between the Y-functions and the quantum periods and study the exact Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization condition for the quantum periods. We also discuss the quantum spectral curves for the D and E type theories.

  7. Quantum graphs with the Bethe-Sommerfeld property

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Exner, Pavel; Turek, Ondřej

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 8, č. 3 (2017), s. 305-309 ISSN 2220-8054 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA17-01706S Institutional support: RVO:61389005 Keywords : periodic quantum graphs * gap number * delta-coupling * rectangular lattice graph * scale-invariant coupling * Bethe-Sommerfeld conjecture * golden mean Subject RIV: BE - Theoretical Physics OBOR OECD: Atomic, molecular and chemical physics ( physics of atoms and molecules including collision, interaction with radiation, magnetic resonances, Mössbauer effect)

  8. Reality, Causality, and Probability, from Quantum Mechanics to Quantum Field Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plotnitsky, Arkady

    2015-10-01

    These three lectures consider the questions of reality, causality, and probability in quantum theory, from quantum mechanics to quantum field theory. They do so in part by exploring the ideas of the key founding figures of the theory, such N. Bohr, W. Heisenberg, E. Schrödinger, or P. A. M. Dirac. However, while my discussion of these figures aims to be faithful to their thinking and writings, and while these lectures are motivated by my belief in the helpfulness of their thinking for understanding and advancing quantum theory, this project is not driven by loyalty to their ideas. In part for that reason, these lectures also present different and even conflicting ways of thinking in quantum theory, such as that of Bohr or Heisenberg vs. that of Schrödinger. The lectures, most especially the third one, also consider new physical, mathematical, and philosophical complexities brought in by quantum field theory vis-à-vis quantum mechanics. I close by briefly addressing some of the implications of the argument presented here for the current state of fundamental physics.

  9. Darwinism in disguise? A comparison between Bohr's view on quantum mechanics and QBism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faye, Jan

    2016-05-28

    The Copenhagen interpretation is first and foremost associated with Niels Bohr's philosophy of quantum mechanics. In this paper, I attempt to lay out what I see as Bohr's pragmatic approach to science in general and to quantum physics in particular. A part of this approach is his claim that the classical concepts are indispensable for our understanding of all physical phenomena, and it seems as if the claim is grounded in his reflection upon how the evolution of language is adapted to experience. Another, recent interpretation, QBism, has also found support in Darwin's theory. It may therefore not be surprising that sometimes QBism is said to be of the same breed as the Copenhagen interpretation. By comparing the two interpretations, I conclude, nevertheless, that there are important differences. © 2016 The Author(s).

  10. Einstein, Bohr, and Bell

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellac, Michel Le

    2014-11-01

    The final form of quantum physics, in the particular case of wave mechanics, was established in the years 1925-1927 by Heisenberg, Schrödinger, Born and others, but the synthesis was the work of Bohr who gave an epistemological interpretation of all the technicalities built up over those years; this interpretation will be examined briefly in Chapter 10. Although Einstein acknowledged the success of quantum mechanics in atomic, molecular and solid state physics, he disagreed deeply with Bohr's interpretation. For many years, he tried to find flaws in the formulation of quantum theory as it had been more or less accepted by a large majority of physicists, but his objections were brushed away by Bohr. However, in an article published in 1935 with Podolsky and Rosen, universally known under the acronym EPR, Einstein thought he had identified a difficulty in the by then standard interpretation. Bohr's obscure, and in part beyond the point, answer showed that Einstein had hit a sensitive target. Nevertheless, until 1964, the so-called Bohr-Einstein debate stayed uniquely on a philosophical level, and it was actually forgotten by most physicists, as the few of them aware of it thought it had no practical implication. In 1964, the Northern Irish physicist John Bell realized that the assumptions contained in the EPR article could be tested experimentally. These assumptions led to inequalities, the Bell inequalities, which were in contradiction with quantum mechanical predictions: as we shall see later on, it is extremely likely that the assumptions of the EPR article are not consistent with experiment, which, on the contrary, vindicates the predictions of quantum physics. In Section 3.2, the origin of Bell's inequalities will be explained with an intuitive example, then they will be compared with the predictions of quantum theory in Section 3.3, and finally their experimental status will be reviewed in Section 3.4. The debate between Bohr and Einstein goes much beyond a

  11. Rutherford-Bohr atom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heilbron, J. L.

    1981-03-01

    Bohr used to introduce his attempts to explain clearly the principles of the quantum theory of the atom with an historical sketch, beginning invariably with the nuclear model proposed by Rutherford. That was sound pedagogy but bad history. The Rutherford-Bohr atom stands in the middle of a line of work initiated by J.J. Thomson and concluded by the invention of quantum mechanics. Thompson's program derived its inspiration from the peculiar emphasis on models characteristic of British physics of the 19th century. Rutherford's atom was a late product of the goals and conceptions of Victorian science. Bohr's modifications, although ultimately fatal to Thomson's program, initially gave further impetus to it. In the early 1920s the most promising approach to an adequate theory of the atom appeared to be the literal and detailed elaboration of the classical mechanics of multiply periodic orbits. The approach succeeded, demonstrating in an unexpected way the force of an argument often advanced by Thomson: because a mechanical model is richer in implications than the considerations for which it was advanced, it can suggest new directions of research that may lead to important discoveries.

  12. Quantum Theory and Beyond

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bastin, Ted

    2009-07-01

    List of participants; Preface; Part I. Introduction: 1. The function of the colloquium - editorial; 2. The conceptual problem of quantum theory from the experimentalist's point of view O. R. Frisch; Part II. Niels Bohr and Complementarity: The Place of the Classical Language: 3. The Copenhagen interpretation C. F. von Weizsäcker; 4. On Bohr's views concerning the quantum theory D. Bohm; Part III. The Measurement Problem: 5. Quantal observation in statistical interpretation H. J. Groenewold; 6. Macroscopic physics, quantum mechanics and quantum theory of measurement G. M. Prosperi; 7. Comment on the Daneri-Loinger-Prosperi quantum theory of measurement Jeffrey Bub; 8. The phenomenology of observation and explanation in quantum theory J. H. M. Whiteman; 9. Measurement theory and complex systems M. A. Garstens; Part IV. New Directions within Quantum Theory: What does the Quantum Theoretical Formalism Really Tell Us?: 10. On the role of hidden variables in the fundamental structure of physics D. Bohm; 11. Beyond what? Discussion: space-time order within existing quantum theory C. W. Kilmister; 12. Definability and measurability in quantum theory Yakir Aharonov and Aage Petersen; 13. The bootstrap idea and the foundations of quantum theory Geoffrey F. Chew; Part V. A Fresh Start?: 14. Angular momentum: an approach to combinatorial space-time Roger Penrose; 15. A note on discreteness, phase space and cohomology theory B. J. Hiley; 16. Cohomology of observations R. H. Atkin; 17. The origin of half-integral spin in a discrete physical space Ted Bastin; Part VI. Philosophical Papers: 18. The unity of physics C. F. von Weizsäcker; 19. A philosophical obstacle to the rise of new theories in microphysics Mario Bunge; 20. The incompleteness of quantum mechanics or the emperor's missing clothes H. R. Post; 21. How does a particle get from A to B?; Ted Bastin; 22. Informational generalization of entropy in physics Jerome Rothstein; 23. Can life explain quantum mechanics? H. H

  13. Periodic quantum graphs from the Bethe-Sommerfeld perspective

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Exner, Pavel; Turek, Ondřej

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 50, č. 45 (2017), č. článku 455201. ISSN 1751-8113 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA17-01706S Institutional support: RVO:61389005 Keywords : quantum graphs * Bethe-Sommerfeld conjecture * vertex coupling * Diophantine approximation * periodic structure Subject RIV: BE - Theoretical Physics OBOR OECD: Atomic, molecular and chemical physics ( physics of atoms and molecules including collision, interaction with radiation, magnetic resonances, Mössbauer effect) Impact factor: 1.857, year: 2016

  14. Quantum mechanics in matrix form

    CERN Document Server

    Ludyk, Günter

    2018-01-01

    This book gives an introduction to quantum mechanics with the matrix method. Heisenberg's matrix mechanics is described in detail. The fundamental equations are derived by algebraic methods using matrix calculus. Only a brief description of Schrödinger's wave mechanics is given (in most books exclusively treated), to show their equivalence to Heisenberg's matrix  method. In the first part the historical development of Quantum theory by Planck, Bohr and Sommerfeld is sketched, followed by the ideas and methods of Heisenberg, Born and Jordan. Then Pauli's spin and exclusion principles are treated. Pauli's exclusion principle leads to the structure of atoms. Finally, Dirac´s relativistic quantum mechanics is shortly presented. Matrices and matrix equations are today easy to handle when implementing numerical algorithms using standard software as MAPLE and Mathematica.

  15. Introducing quantum theory a graphic guide

    CERN Document Server

    McEvoy, J P

    2013-01-01

    Quantum theory confronts us with bizarre paradoxes which contradict the logic of classical physics. At the subatomic level, one particle seems to know what the others are doing, and according to Heisenberg's "uncertainty principle", there is a limit on how accurately nature can be observed. And yet the theory is amazingly accurate and widely applied, explaining all of chemistry and most of physics. "Introducing Quantum Theory" takes us on a step-by-step tour with the key figures, including Planck, Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg and Schrodinger. Each contributed at least one crucial concept to the theory. The puzzle of the wave-particle duality is here, along with descriptions of the two questions raised against Bohr's "Copenhagen Interpretation" - the famous "dead and alive cat" and the EPR paradox. Both remain unresolved.

  16. Bohr orbit theory revisited

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harcourt, R.D.

    1987-01-01

    Bohr orbit theory is used to calculate energies for the 1S, 2P, 3D, 4F and 5G states of the helium muonic atom, when the muon is excited. These energies are close to those which have been calculated variationally by Huang (1977, Phys. Rev. A 15 1832-8). (author)

  17. Can we close the Bohr-Einstein quantum debate?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kupczynski, Marian

    2017-11-13

    Recent experiments allow one to conclude that Bell-type inequalities are indeed violated; thus, it is important to understand what this means and how we can explain the existence of strong correlations between outcomes of distant measurements. Do we have to announce that Einstein was wrong, Nature is non-local and non-local correlations are produced due to quantum magic and emerge, somehow, from outside space-time? Fortunately, such conclusions are unfounded because, if supplementary parameters describing measuring instruments are correctly incorporated in a theoretical model, then Bell-type inequalities may not be proved. We construct a simple probabilistic model allowing these correlations to be explained in a locally causal way. In our model, measurement outcomes are neither predetermined nor produced in an irreducibly random way. We explain why, contrary to the general belief, the introduction of setting-dependent parameters does not restrict experimenters' freedom of choice. Since the violation of Bell-type inequalities does not allow the conclusion that Nature is non-local and that quantum theory is complete, the Bohr-Einstein quantum debate may not be closed. The continuation of this debate is important not only for a better understanding of Nature but also for various practical applications of quantum phenomena.This article is part of the themed issue 'Second quantum revolution: foundational questions'. © 2017 The Author(s).

  18. Can we close the Bohr-Einstein quantum debate?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kupczynski, Marian

    2017-10-01

    Recent experiments allow one to conclude that Bell-type inequalities are indeed violated; thus, it is important to understand what this means and how we can explain the existence of strong correlations between outcomes of distant measurements. Do we have to announce that Einstein was wrong, Nature is non-local and non-local correlations are produced due to quantum magic and emerge, somehow, from outside space-time? Fortunately, such conclusions are unfounded because, if supplementary parameters describing measuring instruments are correctly incorporated in a theoretical model, then Bell-type inequalities may not be proved. We construct a simple probabilistic model allowing these correlations to be explained in a locally causal way. In our model, measurement outcomes are neither predetermined nor produced in an irreducibly random way. We explain why, contrary to the general belief, the introduction of setting-dependent parameters does not restrict experimenters' freedom of choice. Since the violation of Bell-type inequalities does not allow the conclusion that Nature is non-local and that quantum theory is complete, the Bohr-Einstein quantum debate may not be closed. The continuation of this debate is important not only for a better understanding of Nature but also for various practical applications of quantum phenomena. This article is part of the themed issue `Second quantum revolution: foundational questions'.

  19. Communication: Wigner functions in action-angle variables, Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization, the Heisenberg correspondence principle, and a symmetrical quasi-classical approach to the full electronic density matrix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, William H.; Cotton, Stephen J.

    2016-01-01

    It is pointed out that the classical phase space distribution in action-angle (a-a) variables obtained from a Wigner function depends on how the calculation is carried out: if one computes the standard Wigner function in Cartesian variables (p, x), and then replaces p and x by their expressions in terms of a-a variables, one obtains a different result than if the Wigner function is computed directly in terms of the a-a variables. Furthermore, the latter procedure gives a result more consistent with classical and semiclassical theory—e.g., by incorporating the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization condition (quantum states defined by integer values of the action variable) as well as the Heisenberg correspondence principle for matrix elements of an operator between such states—and has also been shown to be more accurate when applied to electronically non-adiabatic applications as implemented within the recently developed symmetrical quasi-classical (SQC) Meyer-Miller (MM) approach. Moreover, use of the Wigner function (obtained directly) in a-a variables shows how our standard SQC/MM approach can be used to obtain off-diagonal elements of the electronic density matrix by processing in a different way the same set of trajectories already used (in the SQC/MM methodology) to obtain the diagonal elements.

  20. Communication: Wigner functions in action-angle variables, Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization, the Heisenberg correspondence principle, and a symmetrical quasi-classical approach to the full electronic density matrix

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miller, William H., E-mail: millerwh@berkeley.edu; Cotton, Stephen J., E-mail: StephenJCotton47@gmail.com [Department of Chemistry and Kenneth S. Pitzer Center for Theoretical Chemistry, University of California, and Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)

    2016-08-28

    It is pointed out that the classical phase space distribution in action-angle (a-a) variables obtained from a Wigner function depends on how the calculation is carried out: if one computes the standard Wigner function in Cartesian variables (p, x), and then replaces p and x by their expressions in terms of a-a variables, one obtains a different result than if the Wigner function is computed directly in terms of the a-a variables. Furthermore, the latter procedure gives a result more consistent with classical and semiclassical theory—e.g., by incorporating the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization condition (quantum states defined by integer values of the action variable) as well as the Heisenberg correspondence principle for matrix elements of an operator between such states—and has also been shown to be more accurate when applied to electronically non-adiabatic applications as implemented within the recently developed symmetrical quasi-classical (SQC) Meyer-Miller (MM) approach. Moreover, use of the Wigner function (obtained directly) in a-a variables shows how our standard SQC/MM approach can be used to obtain off-diagonal elements of the electronic density matrix by processing in a different way the same set of trajectories already used (in the SQC/MM methodology) to obtain the diagonal elements.

  1. Probing the (empirical quantum structure embedded in the periodic table with an effective Bohr model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wellington Nardin Favaro

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The atomic shell structure can be observed by inspecting the experimental periodic properties of the Periodic Table. The (quantum shell structure emerges from these properties and in this way quantum mechanics can be explicitly shown considering the (semi-quantitative periodic properties. These periodic properties can be obtained with a simple effective Bohr model. An effective Bohr model with an effective quantum defect (u was considered as a probe in order to show the quantum structure embedded in the Periodic Table. u(Z shows a quasi-smoothed dependence of Z, i.e., u(Z ≈ Z2/5 - 1.

  2. Recent developments in quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ambjoern, J.; Petersen, J.L.; Durhuus, B.J.

    1985-01-01

    This is the second volume in a set of three containing the proceedings of 3 conferences held in Copenhagen, to mark the centennial of Niels Bohr. The purpose of this symposium was to bring together theoretical particle physicists to discuss the present status and, in particular, the latest developments in quantum field theory, in their broadest aspects. This volume contains the main 19 lectures and reflects the contemporary status of a line of development, one of whose initiators was Niels Bohr. (orig.)

  3. Observer dependence of quantum states in relativistic quantum field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malin, S.

    1982-01-01

    Quantum states can be understood as either (i) describing quantum systems or (ii) representing observers' knowledge about quantum systems. These different meanings are shown to imply different transformation properties in relativistic field theories. The rules for the reduction of quantum states and the transformation properties of quantum states under Lorentz transformations are derived for case (ii). The results obtained are applied to a quantum system recently presented and analyzed by Aharonov and Albert. It is shown that the present results, combined with Aharonov and Albert's, amount to a proof of Bohr's view that quantum states represent observers' knowledge about quantum systems

  4. 3 minutes to understand the 50 greatest theories of quantum physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clegg, Brian; Ball, Philip; Clifford, Leon; Close, Frank; Hebden, Sophie; Hellemans, Alexander; Holgate, Sharon Ann; May, Andrew; Martinez, Rachel; Dubois, Richard

    2015-01-01

    This book aims at using 2 pages, 300 words and 1 image to explain each of the 50 most important theories of quantum physics. After a first part addressing the origins of the theory (Planck quanta, the photoelectric effect according to Einstein, the predictable Balmer series, the Bohr's atom, the wave/particle duality, the matter waves of De Broglie, the double quantum slit), the chapters address basic notions (quantum spin, matrix mechanics, Schroedinger's equation and cat, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, the wave function reduction, the decoherence), light and matter physics, quantum effects and their interpretation, quantum entanglement, quantum applications, and quantum extremes. Each chapter proposes a glossary, a presentation of specific issues according to the adopted format, and a portrait of a scientist involved in the addressed topics (Niels Bohr, Erwin Schroedinger, Paul Dirac, David Bohm, John Bell, Brian Josephson, and Satyendra Nath Bose)

  5. Atoms, metaphors and paradoxes Niels Bohr and the construction of a new physics

    CERN Document Server

    Petruccioli, Sandro

    2006-01-01

    This book gives a detailed study of the development and the interpretation given to Niels Bohr's Principle of Correspondence. It also describes the role that this principle played in guiding Bohr's research over the critical period from 1920 to 1927. Quantum mechanics, developed in the 1920s and 1930s by Bohr, Heisenberg, Born, Schrödinger and Dirac, represents one of the most profound turning points in science. This theory required a wholly new kind of physics in which many of the principles, concepts and models representing reality, that had formed the basis of classical physics since Galileo and Newton, had to be abandoned. This book re-examines the birth of quantum mechanics, in particular examining the development of crucial and original insights of Niels Bohr.

  6. The language of Orthodox theology & quantum mechanics: St Gregory Palamas and Niels Bohr

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tanev, Stoyan

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this chapter is to provide an analytical framework that would enable the comparison of the ways of using words and language in the cases of St. Gregory Palamas and Niels Bohr. The main motivation will be to explore Christos Yannaras’ point about the opportunity of using quantum....... The focus on epistemological issues could be justified by the fact that both St. Gregory Palamas and Niels Bohr have been acknowledged for their epistemological insights....

  7. Arnold Sommerfeld science, life and turbulent times : 1868-1951

    CERN Document Server

    Eckert, Michael

    2013-01-01

    Arnold Sommerfeld (1868-1951) belongs with Max Planck (1858-1947), Albert Einstein (1879-1955) and Niels Bohr (1885-1962) among the founders of modern theoretical physics, a science that developed into a budding discipline during his lifetime. Sommerfeld witnessed many of the most dramatic scientific, cultural and political events of this era. His correspondence with his family offers a vivid testament to the challenges and joys of a life in science. This biography attempts to reconstruct Sommerfeld’s life and work not only from the perspective of his achievements in theoretical physics but also with the goal of portraying the career of a scientist within the social and political environment in which it evolved. It is based to a large extent on Sommerfeld’s voluminous correspondence, which sheds light both on his private and scientific life. Furthermore, it provides an authentic view on the circumstances that shaped Sommerfeld’s career in different places – Königsberg, Göttingen, Clausthal, Aachen, ...

  8. Einstein's strugges with quantum theory a reappraisal

    CERN Document Server

    Home, Dipankar

    2007-01-01

    Einstein’s Struggles with Quantum Theory: A Reappraisal by Dipankar Home and Andrew Whitaker provides a detailed account of Albert Einstein’s thinking in regard to quantum physics. Until recently, most of Einstein’s views on quantum physics were dismissed and even ridiculed; some critics even suggested that Einstein was not able to grasp the complexities of the formalism of quantum theory and subtleties of the standard interpretation of this theory known as the Copenhagen interpretation put forward by Niels Bohr and his colleagues. But was that true? Modern scholarship argues otherwise, insist Drs. Home and Whitaker, who painstakingly explain the questions Einstein raised as well as offer a detailed discussion of Einstein’s position and major contributions to quantum theory, connecting them with contemporary studies on fundamental aspects of this theory. This unique book presents a mathematical as well as a non-mathematical route through the theories, controversies, and investigations, making the disc...

  9. Quantization of Poisson Manifolds from the Integrability of the Modular Function

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonechi, F.; Ciccoli, N.; Qiu, J.; Tarlini, M.

    2014-10-01

    We discuss a framework for quantizing a Poisson manifold via the quantization of its symplectic groupoid, combining the tools of geometric quantization with the results of Renault's theory of groupoid C*-algebras. This setting allows very singular polarizations. In particular, we consider the case when the modular function is multiplicatively integrable, i.e., when the space of leaves of the polarization inherits a groupoid structure. If suitable regularity conditions are satisfied, then one can define the quantum algebra as the convolution algebra of the subgroupoid of leaves satisfying the Bohr-Sommerfeld conditions. We apply this procedure to the case of a family of Poisson structures on , seen as Poisson homogeneous spaces of the standard Poisson-Lie group SU( n + 1). We show that a bihamiltonian system on defines a multiplicative integrable model on the symplectic groupoid; we compute the Bohr-Sommerfeld groupoid and show that it satisfies the needed properties for applying Renault theory. We recover and extend Sheu's description of quantum homogeneous spaces as groupoid C*-algebras.

  10. Niels Bohr before/After

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lurcat, F.

    1991-01-01

    Physics Nobel Price in 1922, Niels Bohr is the atomic modern theory inventor. He was Einstein friend and opponent. Niels Bohr never accepted that the physics became incomprehensible. Bohr was also a philosophe, and his theses ask to be explained. This book intends to non specialists [fr

  11. Homogeneous Field and WKB Approximation in Deformed Quantum Mechanics with Minimal Length

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Tao

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In the framework of the deformed quantum mechanics with a minimal length, we consider the motion of a nonrelativistic particle in a homogeneous external field. We find the integral representation for the physically acceptable wave function in the position representation. Using the method of steepest descent, we obtain the asymptotic expansions of the wave function at large positive and negative arguments. We then employ the leading asymptotic expressions to derive the WKB connection formula, which proceeds from classically forbidden region to classically allowed one through a turning point. By the WKB connection formula, we prove the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule up to Oβ2. We also show that if the slope of the potential at a turning point is too steep, the WKB connection formula is no longer valid around the turning point. The effects of the minimal length on the classical motions are investigated using the Hamilton-Jacobi method. We also use the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization to study statistical physics in deformed spaces with the minimal length.

  12. Wave-particle duality and Bohr's complementarity principle in quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sen, D.; Basu, A.N.; Sengupta, S.

    1995-01-01

    Interest on Bohr's complementarity principle has recently been revived particularly because of several thought experiments and some actually performed experiments to test the validity of mutual exclusiveness of wave and particle properties. A critical review of the situation is undertaken and it is pointed out that the problem with mutual exclusiveness arises because of some vagueness in the conventional formulation. An attempt is made to remove this vagueness by connecting the origin of mutual exclusiveness to some principles of quantum mechanics. Accordingly, it becomes obvious that to contradict complementarity principle without contradicting quantum mechanics would be impossible. Some of the recent experiments are critically analysed. (author). 31 refs., 3 ills

  13. The Bohr--Einstein ''weighing-of-energy'' debate and the principle of equivalence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hughes, R.J.

    1990-01-01

    The Bohr--Einstein debate over the ''weighing of energy'' and the validity of the time--energy uncertainty relation is reexamined in the context of gravitation theories that do not respect the equivalence principle. Bohr's use of the equivalence principle is shown to be sufficient, but not necessary, to establish the validity of this uncertainty relation in Einstein's ''weighing-of-energy'' gedanken experiment. The uncertainty relation is shown to hold in any energy-conserving theory of gravity, and so a failure of the equivalence principle does not engender a failure of quantum mechanics. The relationship between the gravitational redshift and the equivalence principle is reviewed

  14. Quantum frames

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Matthew J.

    2014-02-01

    The framework of quantum frames can help unravel some of the interpretive difficulties i the foundation of quantum mechanics. In this paper, I begin by tracing the origins of this concept in Bohr's discussion of quantum theory and his theory of complementarity. Engaging with various interpreters and followers of Bohr, I argue that the correct account of quantum frames must be extended beyond literal space-time reference frames to frames defined by relations between a quantum system and the exosystem or external physical frame, of which measurement contexts are a particularly important example. This approach provides superior solutions to key EPR-type measurement and locality paradoxes.

  15. EPR before EPR: A 1930 Einstein-Bohr thought Experiment Revisited

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikolic, Hrvoje

    2012-01-01

    In 1930, Einstein argued against the consistency of the time-energy uncertainty relation by discussing a thought experiment involving a measurement of the mass of the box which emitted a photon. Bohr seemingly prevailed over Einstein by arguing that Einstein's own general theory of relativity saves the consistency of quantum mechanics. We revisit…

  16. Foundations of quantum theory from classical concepts to operator algebras

    CERN Document Server

    Landsman, Klaas

    2017-01-01

    This book studies the foundations of quantum theory through its relationship to classical physics. This idea goes back to the Copenhagen Interpretation (in the original version due to Bohr and Heisenberg), which the author relates to the mathematical formalism of operator algebras originally created by von Neumann. The book therefore includes comprehensive appendices on functional analysis and C*-algebras, as well as a briefer one on logic, category theory, and topos theory. Matters of foundational as well as mathematical interest that are covered in detail include symmetry (and its "spontaneous" breaking), the measurement problem, the Kochen-Specker, Free Will, and Bell Theorems, the Kadison-Singer conjecture, quantization, indistinguishable particles, the quantum theory of large systems, and quantum logic, the latter in connection with the topos approach to quantum theory. This book is Open Access under a CC BY licence.

  17. Thermal evolution and small scale structure of Sommerfeld enhanced dark matter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aarssen, Laura Gusta van den

    2013-04-01

    Although the existence of Dark Matter (DM) has been confirmed by many independent observations on various scales, its nature still remains a mystery. Leading candidates for the cold, non-baryonic DM are Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), that are well motivated from particle physics and naturally explain the observed relic density by their thermal production mechanism. In this thesis we focus on a particular class of WIMP models in which the Sommerfeld effect has to be taken into account. This is a quantum mechanical phenomenon that can significantly enhance the annihilation cross section in the non-relativistic limit. To describe the non-perturbative effect, we use a non-relativistic effective field theory derived from the full quantum field theory. We include a detailed discussion of the calculation for the righthanded sneutrino, which is the superpartner of the neutrino and a viable DM candidate. The Sommerfeld enhancement can have a profound influence on the thermal evolution of the DM, which can no longer be described by the standard scenario. We introduce a framework to correctly take this effect into account and apply it to a simple leptophilic DM model. A new era of annihilations can decrease the DM density even after usual freeze-out, and in some cases where the Sommerfeld enhancement is especially large, even continue until after matter-radiation equality. The effect on the asymptotic WIMP temperature, which can be directly related to a small scale cutoff in the matter density fluctuations, causes the mass of the smallest gravitationally bound objects to be larger than expected from standard calculations. Furthermore we study the effect of velocity dependent DM self-scattering in relation to the small scale structure formation. Numerical simulations of ΛCDM have shown a remarkable agreement with the large scale structure of the Universe. However, the simulations are in tension with observed abundances, inner densities and velocity profiles of

  18. Thermal evolution and small scale structure of Sommerfeld enhanced dark matter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aarssen, Laura Gusta van den

    2013-04-15

    Although the existence of Dark Matter (DM) has been confirmed by many independent observations on various scales, its nature still remains a mystery. Leading candidates for the cold, non-baryonic DM are Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), that are well motivated from particle physics and naturally explain the observed relic density by their thermal production mechanism. In this thesis we focus on a particular class of WIMP models in which the Sommerfeld effect has to be taken into account. This is a quantum mechanical phenomenon that can significantly enhance the annihilation cross section in the non-relativistic limit. To describe the non-perturbative effect, we use a non-relativistic effective field theory derived from the full quantum field theory. We include a detailed discussion of the calculation for the righthanded sneutrino, which is the superpartner of the neutrino and a viable DM candidate. The Sommerfeld enhancement can have a profound influence on the thermal evolution of the DM, which can no longer be described by the standard scenario. We introduce a framework to correctly take this effect into account and apply it to a simple leptophilic DM model. A new era of annihilations can decrease the DM density even after usual freeze-out, and in some cases where the Sommerfeld enhancement is especially large, even continue until after matter-radiation equality. The effect on the asymptotic WIMP temperature, which can be directly related to a small scale cutoff in the matter density fluctuations, causes the mass of the smallest gravitationally bound objects to be larger than expected from standard calculations. Furthermore we study the effect of velocity dependent DM self-scattering in relation to the small scale structure formation. Numerical simulations of {Lambda}CDM have shown a remarkable agreement with the large scale structure of the Universe. However, the simulations are in tension with observed abundances, inner densities and velocity

  19. An outline of Albert Einstein's contribution to quantum theory up to 1925

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gjoetterud, K.

    1979-01-01

    Einstein's paper of 1905 in which he introduces the concept of light quanta, or photons, and which was mentioned as the basis of his Nobel Prize in 1920, is discussed. His discussion of the static coutent in Planck's Radiation Law and his comments on Bohr's atom model are also treated. His work on the quantum theory of radiation is treated at more length and his comments on the direction of radiation processes are quoted. Finally brief mention is made of his contributions in quantum statistics and the quantum theory of the solid state. (JIW)

  20. Considerations on Bohr's, Heisenberg's and Schroedinger's philosophy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shimony, A.

    1981-01-01

    In denying that the words 'physical reality' are meaningful without reference to an experimental arrangement, Bohr renounces any knowledge of the 'thing-in-itself'. However, the relation of his epistemology to both idealism and positivism remains obscure. Heisenberg departs from Bohr in enunciating a metaphysical implication of quantum mechanics. Heisenberg asserts that there is an intermediate modality -potentiality- between logical possibility and existence. His attempts to explain the transition from potentiality to existence are not convincing. Schroedinger rejects Bohr's interpretation of quantum mechanics as a positivist exercise and seeks instead a realist interpretation. Nevertheless, the metaphysics of Schroedinger is fundamentally idealistic, maintaining that the material aspect of the world is composed of the same elements as mind, but in a different order [fr

  1. Bohr's Electron was Problematic for Einstein: String Theory Solved the Problem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webb, William

    2013-04-01

    Neils Bohr's 1913 model of the hydrogen electron was problematic for Albert Einstein. Bohr's electron rotates with positive kinetic energies +K but has addition negative potential energies - 2K. The total net energy is thus always negative with value - K. Einstein's special relativity requires energies to be positive. There's a Bohr negative energy conflict with Einstein's positive energy requirement. The two men debated the problem. Both would have preferred a different electron model having only positive energies. Bohr and Einstein couldn't find such a model. But Murray Gell-Mann did! In the 1960's, Gell-Mann introduced his loop-shaped string-like electron. Now, analysis with string theory shows that the hydrogen electron is a loop of string-like material with a length equal to the circumference of the circular orbit it occupies. It rotates like a lariat around its centered proton. This loop-shape has no negative potential energies: only positive +K relativistic kinetic energies. Waves induced on loop-shaped electrons propagate their energy at a speed matching the tangential speed of rotation. With matching wave speed and only positive kinetic energies, this loop-shaped electron model is uniquely suited to be governed by the Einstein relativistic equation for total mass-energy. Its calculated photon emissions are all in excellent agreement with experimental data and, of course, in agreement with those -K calculations by Neils Bohr 100 years ago. Problem solved!

  2. General covariance and quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mashhoon, B.

    1986-01-01

    The extension of the principle of relativity to general coordinate systems is based on the hypothesis that an accelerated observer is locally equivalent to a hypothetical inertial observer with the same velocity as the noninertial observer. This hypothesis of locality is expected to be valid for classical particle phenomena as well as for classical wave phenomena but only in the short-wavelength approximation. The generally covariant theory is therefore expected to be in conflict with the quantum theory which is based on wave-particle duality. This is explicitly demonstrated for the frequency of electromagnetic radiation measured by a uniformly rotating observer. The standard Doppler formula is shown to be valid only in the geometric optics approximation. A new definition for the frequency is proposed, and the resulting formula for the frequency measured by the rotating observer is shown to be consistent with expectations based on the classical theory of electrons. A tentative quantum theory is developed on the basis of the generalization of the Bohr frequency condition to include accelerated observers. The description of the causal sequence of events is assumed to be independent of the motion of the observer. Furthermore, the quantum hypothesis is supposed to be valid for all observers. The implications of this theory are critically examined. The new formula for frequency, which is still based on the hypothesis of locality, leads to the observation of negative energy quanta by the rotating observer and is therefore in conflict with the quantum theory

  3. Einstein and the quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pais, A.

    1979-01-01

    The following topics are discussed: The light-quantum hypothesis and its gradual evolution into the photon concept. Early history of the photoelectric effect. The theoretical and experimental reasons why the resistance to the photon was stronger and more protracted than for any other particle proposed to date. Einstein's position regarding the Bohr--Kramers--Slater suggestion, the last bastion of resistance to the photon. Einstein's analysis of fluctuations around thermal equilibrium and his proposal of a duality between particles and waves, in 1909 for electromagnetic radiation (the first time this duality was ever stated) and in January 1925 for matter (prior to quantum mechanics and for reasons independent of those given earlier by de Broglie). His demonstration that long-known specific heat anomalies are quantum effects. His role in the evolution of the third law of thermodynamics. His new derivation of Planck's law in 1917 which also marks the beginning of his concern with the failure of classical causality. His role as one of the founders of quantum statistics and his discovery of the first example of a phase transition derived by using purely statistical methods. His position as a critic of quantum mechanics. Initial doubts on the consistency of quantum mechanics (1926--1930). His view maintained from 1930 until the end of his life: quantum mechanics is logically consistent and quite successful but it is incomplete. His attitude toward success. His criterion of objective reality. Differences in the roles relativity and quantum theory played in Einstein's life. His vision regarding quantum theory in the context of a unified field theory. His last autobiographical sketch, written a few months before his death, concluding with a statement about the quantum theory, a subject to which (by his own account) he had given more thought than even to general relativity

  4. Niels Bohr and the philosophy of physics twenty-first century perspectives

    CERN Document Server

    Folse, Henry

    2017-01-01

    Niels Bohr and Philosophy of Physics: Twenty-First Century Perspectives examines the philosophical views, influences and legacy of the Nobel Prize physicist and philosophical spokesman of the quantum revolution, Niels Bohr. The sixteen contributions in this collection by some of the best contemporary philosophers and physicists writing on Bohr's philosophy today all carefully distinguish his subtle and unique interpretation of quantum mechanics from views often imputed to him under the banner of the “Copenhagen Interpretation.” With respect to philosophical influences on Bohr's outlook, the contributors analyse prominent similarities between his viewpoint and Kantian ways of thinking, the views of the Danish philosopher Harald Høffding, and themes characteristic of American pragmatism. In recognizing the importance of Bohr's epistemological naturalism they examine his defence of the indispensability of classical concepts from a variety of different perspectives. This collection shows us that Bohr's int...

  5. Quantum theory and the flight from realism philosophical responses to quantum mechanics

    CERN Document Server

    Norris, Christopher

    2002-01-01

    This book is a critical introduction to the long-standing debate concerning the conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics and the problems it has posed for physicists and philosophers from Einstein to the present. Quantum theory has been a major infulence on postmodernism, and presents significant problems for realists. Keeping his own realist position in check, Christopher Norris subjects a wide range of key opponents and supporters of realism to a high and equal level of scrutiny. With a characteristic combination of rigour and intellectual generosity, he draws out the merits and weaknesses from opposing arguments. In a sequence of closely argued chapters, Norris examines the premises of orthodox quantum theory, as developed most influentially by Bohr and Heisenberg, and its impact on varous philosophical developments. These include the ideas developed by W.V Quine, Thomas Kuhn, Michael Dummett, Bas van Fraassen, and Hilary Puttnam. In each case, Norris argues, these thinkers have been influenced by the...

  6. Interfacial properties at the organic-metal interface probed using quantum well states

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Meng-Kai; Nakayama, Yasuo; Wang, Chin-Yung; Hsu, Jer-Chia; Pan, Chih-Hao; Machida, Shin-ichi; Pi, Tun-Wen; Ishii, Hisao; Tang, S.-J.

    2012-10-01

    Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we investigated the interfacial properties between the long-chain normal-alkane molecule n-CH3(CH2)42CH3 [tetratetracontane (TTC)] and uniform Ag films using the Ag quantum well states. The entire quantum well state energy band dispersions were observed to shift toward the Fermi level with increasing adsorption coverage of TTC up to 1 monolayer (ML). However, the energy shifts upon deposition of 1 ML of TTC are approximately inversely dependent on the Ag film thickness, indicating a quantum-size effect. In the framework of the pushback and image-force models, we applied the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule with the modified Coulomb image potential for the phase shift at the TTC/Ag interface to extract the dielectric constant for 1 ML of TTC.

  7. Quantum Humor: The Playful Side of Physics at Bohr's Institute for Theoretical Physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halpern, Paul

    2012-09-01

    From the 1930s to the 1950s, a period of pivotal developments in quantum, nuclear, and particle physics, physicists at Niels Bohr's Institute for Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen took time off from their research to write humorous articles, letters, and other works. Best known is the Blegdamsvej Faust, performed in April 1932 at the close of one of the Institute's annual conferences. I also focus on the Journal of Jocular Physics, a humorous tribute to Bohr published on the occasions of his 50th, 60th, and 70th birthdays in 1935, 1945, and 1955. Contributors included Léon Rosenfeld, Victor Weisskopf, George Gamow, Oskar Klein, and Hendrik Casimir. I examine their contributions along with letters and other writings to show that they offer a window into some issues in physics at the time, such as the interpretation of complementarity and the nature of the neutrino, as well as the politics of the period.

  8. Timing and Impact of Bohr's Trilogy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Yeuncheol; Wang, Lei; Yin, Ming; Datta, Timir

    2014-03-01

    In their article- Genesis of the Bohr Atom Heilbron and Kuhn asked - what suddenly turned his [Bohr's] attention, to atom models during June 1912- they were absolutely right; during the short period in question Bohr had made an unexpected change in his research activity, he has found a new interest ``atom'' and would soon produce a spectacularly successful theory about it in his now famous trilogy papers in the Phil Mag (1913). We researched the trilogy papers, Bohr`s memorandum, his own correspondence from that time in question and activities by Moseley (Manchester), Henry and Lawrence Bragg. Our work suggests that Bohr, also at Manchester that summer, was likely to have been inspired by Laue's sensational discovery in April 1912, of X-ray interference from atoms in crystals. The three trilogy papers include sixty five distinct (numbered) references from thirty one authors. The publication dates of the cited works range from 1896 to 1913. Bohr showed an extraordinary skill in navigating thru the most important and up-to date works. Eleven of the cited authors (Bohr included, but not John Nicholson) were recognized by ten Noble prizes, six in physics and four in chemistry.

  9. Orbital classical solutions, non-perturbative phenomena and singularity at the zero coupling constant point

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vourdas, A.

    1982-01-01

    We try to extend previous arguments on orbital classical solutions in non-relativistic quantum mechanics to the 1/4lambda vertical stroke phi vertical stroke 4 complex relativistic field theory. The single valuedness of the Green function in the semiclassical (Planksche Konstante → 0) limit leads to a Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization. A path integral formalism for the Green functions analogous to that in non-relativistic quantum mechanics is employed and a semiclassical approach which uses our classical solutions indicates non-perturbative effects. They reflect an esub(1/lambda) singularity at the zero coupling constant point. (orig.)

  10. Atomic theories

    CERN Document Server

    Loring, FH

    2014-01-01

    Summarising the most novel facts and theories which were coming into prominence at the time, particularly those which had not yet been incorporated into standard textbooks, this important work was first published in 1921. The subjects treated cover a wide range of research that was being conducted into the atom, and include Quantum Theory, the Bohr Theory, the Sommerfield extension of Bohr's work, the Octet Theory and Isotopes, as well as Ionisation Potentials and Solar Phenomena. Because much of the material of Atomic Theories lies on the boundary between experimentally verified fact and spec

  11. Is Quantum Mechanics a Complete Theory?: A Philosophical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In 1935, Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen published their thought experiment I a paper entitled, “Can Quantum – Mechanical Description of Physical Reality be considered complete?”. At that time, Bohr, Heisenberg, and the proponents of the Copenhagen interpretation of Quantum mechanics, were saying that Quantum ...

  12. Computer Simulations of Quantum Theory of Hydrogen Atom for Natural Science Education Students in a Virtual Lab

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Gurmukh

    2012-01-01

    The present article is primarily targeted for the advanced college/university undergraduate students of chemistry/physics education, computational physics/chemistry, and computer science. The most recent software system such as MS Visual Studio .NET version 2010 is employed to perform computer simulations for modeling Bohr's quantum theory of…

  13. Foundations of quantum theory and thermodynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olkhov, Victor

    1998-01-01

    Physical reasons to support the statement that Quantum theory (Quantum Gravity in particular as well as Classical Gravity) loose applicability due to Thermodynamical effects are presented. The statement is based on several points: 1. N.Bohr requirement that measuring units must have macro size is one of common fundamentals of Quantum theory. 2. The Reference System--the base notion of Classical and Quantum theory and of any observation process as well, must be protected from any external Thermal influence to provide precise measurements of Time and Distance. 3. No physical screen or process, that can reduce or reflect the action of Gravity is known and hence nothing can cool or protect the measuring units of the Reference System from heating by Thermal Gravity fluctuations. 4. Thermal Gravity fluctuations--Thermal fluctuations of Gravity free fall acceleration, are induced by Thermal behavior of matter and Thermal properties of Electromagnetic fields, but usually are neglected as near zero values. Matter heat Gravity and Gravity heat Matter. Thermal fluctuations of Gravity free fall acceleration act as a Universal Heater on any kind of Matter or Field. 5. Nevertheless the usual Thermal properties of Gravity are negligible, they can be dramatically increased by Gravity Blue Shift (near Gravitational Radius) or usual Doppler effects. 6. If Thermal action of Gravity become significant all measurements of Time and Distance that determine the Reference System notion, must depend on the Thermal properties of Gravity, like Temperature or Entropy, and that violate applicability of the Reference System notion and Quantum and Classical theories as well. If so, Thermal notions, like Temperature or Entropy, become more fundamental than common Time and Distance characters. The definition of the Temperature of the Gravity fluctuations and it's possible measurements are suggested

  14. Quantum States of Neutron in Earth's Gravitational Field

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Keywords. Neutron; gravitational field; Bohr-Sommerfeld-Wilson quantization; projectile motion; elastic collision; Olympiad. Author Affiliations. Vijay A Singh1 Praveen Pathak1 K Krishna Chaitanya2. Homi Bhabha Centre For Science Education (TIFR), V N Purav Marg, Mankhurd Mumbai 400088, India. Physics Department ...

  15. Semiclassical methods in field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ventura, I.

    1978-10-01

    A new scheme is proposed for semi-classical quantization in field theory - the expansion about the charge (EAC) - which is developed within the canonical formalism. This method is suitable for quantizing theories that are invariant under global gauge transformations. It is used in the treatment of the non relativistic logarithmic theory that was proposed by Bialynicki-Birula and Mycielski - a theory we can formulate in any number of spatial dimensions. The non linear Schroedinger equation is also quantized by means of the EAC. The classical logarithmic theories - both, the non relativistic and the relativistic one - are studied in detail. It is shown that the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule(BSQR) in field theory is, in many cases, equivalent to charge quantization. This rule is then applied to the massive Thirring Model and the logarithmic theories. The BSQR can be see as a simplified and non local version of the EAC [pt

  16. Distribution of electron orbits having a definite angular momentum in a static magnetic field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olszewski, S.

    1996-01-01

    Electron orbits having a definite angular momentum in a static magnetic field are calculated with the aid of the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rules. The quantization gives that orbits are arranged along a straight line but the distance between the centers of two neighboring orbits decreases with increase of the absolute value of the angular momentum. With the energy correction equal to the zero-point energy of the harmonic oscillator, the distribution of orbits becomes identical to that obtained recently with the aid of a mixed semiclassical and quantum mechanical theory. 16 refs., 1 fig

  17. Quantum mechanical resonances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cisneros S, A.; McIntosh, H.V.

    1982-01-01

    A discussion of the nature of quantum mechanical resonances is presented from the point of view of the spectral theory of operators. In the case of Bohr-Feshbach resonances, graphs are presented to illustrate the theory showing the decay of a doubly excited metastable state and the excitation of the resonance by an incident particle with proper energy. A characterization of resonances is given as well as a procedure to determine widths using the spectral density function. A sufficient condition is given for the validity of the Breit-Wigner formula for Bohr-Feshbach resonances. (author)

  18. The birth of quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mehra, J.

    1976-01-01

    In an attempt to give an exact mathematical formulation of Bohr's Correspondence Principle, Heisenberg (June 1925) discovered the rules governing the behaviour of quantum- theoretical magnitudes. In fall 1925 Born, Heisenberg and Jordan and, independently, Dirac, formulated consistent algebraic schemes of quantum mechanics. Early in 1926 Schroedinger developed wave mechanics. In quick succession were discovered: Born's probability interpretation of the wave function, the transformation theory of Dirac, Jordan and F. London, Heisenberg's Uncertainty Relations and Bohr's Principle of Complementarity. By September 1927 the basis of a complete theory of atomic phenomena had been established. Aspects of this development, in which Heisenberg played a central role, are presented here as a tribute to his memory. (Author)

  19. EPR, kvantemekanik og Bohr

    OpenAIRE

    Nielsen, Morten Klockmann

    2007-01-01

    Dette projekt omhandler området hvor filosofi og fysik smelter sammen. Kvantemekanikkens tilblivelse fik en hård medfart hvilket diskussionerne mellem især Albert Einstein og Niels Bohr vidner om. De var hovedpersoner i striden om hvordan kvantemekanikken skulle fortolkes, og diskussionen kulminerede i 1935 hvor Einstein sammen med kollegerne Podolsky og Rosen offentliggjorde en artikel med titlen “Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?” (EPR-artiklen)....

  20. Quantum mechanics

    CERN Document Server

    Fitzpatrick, Richard

    2015-01-01

    Quantum mechanics was developed during the first few decades of the twentieth century via a series of inspired guesses made by various physicists, including Planck, Einstein, Bohr, Schroedinger, Heisenberg, Pauli, and Dirac. All these scientists were trying to construct a self-consistent theory of microscopic dynamics that was compatible with experimental observations. The purpose of this book is to present quantum mechanics in a clear, concise, and systematic fashion, starting from the fundamental postulates, and developing the theory in as logical manner as possible. Topics covered in the book include the fundamental postulates of quantum mechanics, angular momentum, time-dependent and time-dependent perturbation theory, scattering theory, identical particles, and relativistic electron theory.

  1. Realism and Antirealism in Informational Foundations of Quantum Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tina Bilban

    2014-08-01

    so in a more comprehensive and intuitive way. The presented approach is close to Husserl's explanation of the relationship between reality and the knowledge we have about it, and to Bohr's personal explanation of quantum mechanics, the complexity of which has often been missed and simplified to mere antirealism. Our approach thus reconnects phenomenology with contemporary philosophy of science and introduces the comprehensive approach that exceeds mere realism and antirealism to the field of quantum theories with informational foundations, where such an approach has not been taken before. Quanta 2014; 3: 32–42.

  2. Niels Bohr and the Atomic Structure

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    IAS Admin

    principle with the restriction that no more than two electrons occupy a given ... displacement laws. Early in his ... The only difference between them is their atomic weight. F Soddy ... validity, Bohr took his theory to Rutherford. Unfortunately,.

  3. Quantum cosmology - science of Genesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Padmanabhan, Thanu

    1987-01-01

    Quantum cosmology, the marriage between the theories of the microscopic and macroscopic Universe, is examined in an attempt to explain the birth of the Universe in the 'big bang'. A quantum cosmological model of the Universe does not exist, but a rough approximation, or 'poor man's' version of quantum cosmology has been developed. The idea is to combine the theory of quantum mechanics with the classical cosmological solutions to obtain a quantum mechanical version of cosmology. Such a model of quantum cosmology is described -here the quantum universe behaves like a hydrogen atom with the Planck length replacing the Bohr radius. Properties of quantum cosmologies and the significance of the Planck length are both discussed. (UK)

  4. Einstein and the Quantum: The Secret Life of EPR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fine, Arthur

    2006-05-01

    Locality, separation and entanglement -- 1930s style. Starting with Solvay 1927, we'll explore the background to the 1935 paper by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen: how it was composed, the actual argument and principles used, and how the paper was received by Schroedinger, and others. We'll also look at Bohr's response: the extent to which Bohr connects with what Einstein was after in EPR and the extent to which EPR marks a shift in Bohr's thinking about the quantum theory. Time permitting, we will contrast EPR with Bell's theorem.

  5. Quantum communication and other quantum information technologies

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Roux, FS

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available -Podolsky-Rosen Albert Einstein Boris Podolsky Nathan Rosen Quantum mechanics: measurements on one particle dictate the state of the other particle. Spontaneous decay Unstable particle x p ∆x ∆p – p. 4/41 Parametric down conversion One incoming photon→ Two outgoing... ⊲ Decay of entanglement in turbulence — Theory — Numerical simulations — Experimental results – p. 2/41 Quantum mechanics Neils Bohr Paul Dirac Erwin Schroedinger Werner Heisenberg Lasers Computers Microelectronics Transistors – p. 3/41 Einstein...

  6. ToE in a nutshell or reconciliation of Bohr and Einstein

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaesser, Juergen

    2016-07-01

    Unification of particle and gravitational physics is today's major challenge. This book describes a comprehensive theory able to accomplish it. Starting with a few basic assumptions it allows deducting so different features as e.g. the forces, the six quarks, particle mass etc. of the Standard Model or light deflection, perihelion rotation, Shapiro effect, red shift etc. of General Relativity. Furthermore among others it gives answers to open questions like GUT, Dark Mass and eventually Dark Energy, justifies why the behavior of elementary particles in a gravitational field complies with the Schroedinger equation or why the radii of the planets in our solar system are as they are. Einstein and Bohr fiercely struggled for an understanding of quantum physics. Their different perspectives seem to be irreconcilable. Because of the overwhelming success of quantum physics the dissent unsettling the foundation of physics was never resolved. Doing it, as it is tried in this book, comprehensibility for physical processes is regained. Paradoxes like Schroedinger's Cat vanish into thin air. A theory of unification cannot be simple as it has to contain the known physics. Moreover it has to overcome their contradictions as in defining space-time or in postulating separability. Advantage of the here presented approach compared to M-theory or Loop Quantum Gravitation is its ability to deduct observable features. Of course open questions remain being answered requiring the computational effort of actual theories if not even much more. But these items do not define the basic message of the theory but the derivation of specifics.

  7. Entropy Spectrum of Black Holes of Heterotic String Theory via Adiabatic Invariance

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Alexis Larra? aga; Luis Cabarique; Manuel Londo? o

    2012-01-01

    Using adiabatic invariance and the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule we investigate the entropy spectroscopy of two black holes of heterotic string theory,the charged GMGHS and the rotating Sen solutions.It is shown that the entropy spectrum is equally spaced in both cases,identically to the spectrum obtained before for Schwarzschild,Reissner-Nordstr?m and Kerr black holes.Since the adiabatic invariance method does not use quasinormal mode analysis,there is no need to impose the small charge or small angular momentum limits and there is no confusion on whether the real part or the imaginary part of the modes is responsible for the entropy spectrum.

  8. Complementarity beyond physics Niels Bohr's parallels

    CERN Document Server

    Bala, Arun

    2017-01-01

    In this study Arun Bala examines the implications that Niels Bohr’s principle of complementarity holds for fields beyond physics. Bohr, one of the founding figures of modern quantum physics, argued that the principle of complementarity he proposed for understanding atomic processes has parallels in psychology, biology, and social science, as well as in Buddhist and Taoist thought. But Bohr failed to offer any explanation for why complementarity might extend beyond physics, and his claims have been widely rejected by scientists as empty speculation. Scientific scepticism has only been reinforced by the naïve enthusiasm of postmodern relativists and New Age intuitionists, who seize upon Bohr’s ideas to justify anti-realist and mystical positions. Arun Bala offers a detailed defence of Bohr’s claim that complementarity has far-reaching implications for the biological and social sciences, as well as for comparative philosophies of science, by explaining Bohr’s parallels as responses to the omnipresence...

  9. A Unified Theory of Interaction: Gravitation and Electrodynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wagener P.

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available A theory is proposed from which the basic equations of gravitation and electromagnetism are derived from a single Lagrangian. The total energy of an atom can be expressed in a power series of the fine structure constant, $alpha$. Specific selections of these terms yield the relativistic correction to the Bohr values of the hydrogen spectrum and the Sommerfeld-Dirac equation for the fine structure spectrum of the hydrogen atom. Expressions for the classical electron radius and some of the Large Number Coincidences are derived. A Lorentz-type force equation is derived for both gravitation and electrodynamics. Electron spin is shown to be an effect of fourth order in $alpha$.

  10. Quantum cosmology. 18

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Padmanabhan, T.

    1989-01-01

    Quantum cosmology is to quantum gravity what the Bohr model is to the full quantum mechanical description of the hydrogen atom. In quantum cosmology one attempts to give a quantum-mechanical meaning to classical solutions of general relativity. This is discussed in this chapter. The approach is illustrated by quantizing only the conformal degree of freedom of the gravitational field, in particular the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker models. And, as in the hydrogen atom, the classical singularity of general relativity is avoided and one has analogous stationary states in the quantum Universe. The chapter ends with a model of the fundamental role that the Planck length may play as the universal cutoff in all field theories, thus ridding the theory of ultra-violet divergences. Two appendices introduce field theory in the Schroedinger representation and the Schroedinger equation for quantum gravity, namely the Wheeler-De Wit equation. (author). 38 refs.; 2 figs.; 1 tab

  11. Anomalies and the crisis of the Bohr-Sommerfeld atomic theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kragh, Helge

    2014-01-01

    In: Scientific Cosmopolitanism and Local Cultures: Religions, Ideologies, Societies (5th ESHS Conference Proceedings, 2014), pp. 652-657.......In: Scientific Cosmopolitanism and Local Cultures: Religions, Ideologies, Societies (5th ESHS Conference Proceedings, 2014), pp. 652-657....

  12. El modelo semicuántico de Bohr en los libros de texto The Bohr's quantum model in the textbook

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Eliécer Moreno Ramírez

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available La didáctica de las ciencias naturales está cuestionando la transposición de los modelos científicos en modelos didácticos. Otras investigaciones muestran que el conocimiento científico convertido en conocimiento escolar produce deformaciones de la actividad científica y la simplificación de modelos, contribuyendo con la actitud negativa de los estudiantes hacia las ciencias y al fracaso escolar reportado por algunos estudios. Se pregunta si el modelo atómico de Bohr que se muestra en los textos se corresponde histórica y epistemológicamente con las actividades científicas y cuáles son las posibles deformaciones que de ésta se hace cuando se muestra el modelo en los libros. Los resultados de la investigación muestran una clara diferencia entre la propuesta de Bohr (1913 y la transposición del modelo, lo que invita a una reflexión profunda acerca de la confiabilidad que pueden tener los textos utilizados para la enseñanza de la ciencia químicaNatural science teaching is questioning the transposition that is made of scientific models into didactic models, because research has shown that when scientific knowledge is transformed into scholarly knowledge in order to be taught it causes the deformation of the scientific activity and the simplification of the models. This contributes to the negative attitude of students towards science, and student failure shown in some studies. This research inquired if the transposition of Bohr's atomic model that is shown in textbooks corresponds historically and epistemologically to scientific activity and what the possible deformations are that, coming from this model, are made to the scientific activity that comes from the transposition. The research results show differences between what Bohr (1913 proposed and the transposition of the model in textbooks. This information will contribute to the analysis that is being done regarding the dependability of textbooks.

  13. Reviving Complementarity: John Wheeler's efforts to apply complementarity toward a quantum description of gravitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halpern, Paul

    2017-01-01

    In 1978, John Wheeler proposed the delayed-choice thought experiment as a generalization of the classic double slit experiment intended to help elucidate the nature of decision making in quantum measurement. In particular, he wished to illustrate how a decision made after a quantum system was prepared might retrospectively affect the outcome. He extended his methods to the universe itself, raising the question of whether the universe is a ``self-excited circuit'' in which scientific measurements in the present affect the quantum dynamics in the past. In this talk we'll show how Wheeler's approach revived the notion of Bohr's complementarity, which had by then faded from the prevailing discourse of quantum measurement theory. Wheeler's advocacy reflected, in part, his wish to eliminate the divide in quantum theory between measurer and what was being measured, bringing greater consistency to the ideas of Bohr, a mentor whom he deeply respected.

  14. Quantum theory as the most robust description of reproducible experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Raedt, Hans; Katsnelson, Mikhail I.; Michielsen, Kristel

    2014-08-01

    It is shown that the basic equations of quantum theory can be obtained from a straightforward application of logical inference to experiments for which there is uncertainty about individual events and for which the frequencies of the observed events are robust with respect to small changes in the conditions under which the experiments are carried out. There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract physical description. It is wrong to think that the task of physics is to find out how nature is. Physics concerns what we can say about nature [45]. Physics is to be regarded not so much as the study of something a priori given, but rather as the development of methods of ordering and surveying human experience. In this respect our task must be to account for such experience in a manner independent of individual subjective judgment and therefore objective in the sense that it can be unambiguously communicated in ordinary human language [46]. The physical content of quantum mechanics is exhausted by its power to formulate statistical laws governing observations under conditions specified in plain language [46]. The first two sentences of the first quote may be read as a suggestion to dispose of, in Mermin's words [47], the "bad habit" to take mathematical abstractions as the reality of the events (in the everyday sense of the word) that we experience through our senses. Although widely circulated, these sentences are reported by Petersen [45] and there is doubt that Bohr actually used this wording [48]. The last two sentences of the first quote and the second quote suggest that we should try to describe human experiences (confined to the realm of scientific inquiry) in a manner and language which is unambiguous and independent of the individual subjective judgment. Of course, the latter should not be construed to imply that the observed phenomena are independent of the choices made by the individual(s) in performing the scientific experiment [49].The third quote

  15. Consequences of a dark disk for the Fermi and PAMELA signals in theories with a Sommerfeld enhancement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cholis, Ilias; Goodenough, Lisa

    2010-01-01

    Much attention has been given to dark matter explanations of the PAMELA positron fraction and Fermi electronic excesses. For those theories with a TeV-scale WIMP annihilating through a light force-carrier, the associated Sommerfeld enhancement provides a natural explanation of the large boost factor needed to explain the signals, and the light force-carrier naturally gives rise to hard cosmic ray spectra without excess π 0 -gamma rays or anti-protons. The Sommerfeld enhancement of the annihilation rate, which at low relative velocities v rel scales as 1/v rel , relies on the comparatively low velocity dispersion of the dark matter particles in the smooth halo. Dark matter substructures in which the velocity dispersion is smaller than in the smooth halo have even larger annihilation rates. N-body simulations containing only dark matter predict the existence of such structures, for example subhalos and caustics, and the effects of these substructures on dark matter indirect detection signals have been studied extensively. The addition of baryons into cosmological simulations of disk-dominated galaxies gives rise to an additional substructure component, a dark disk. The disk has a lower velocity dispersion than the spherical halo component by a factor ∼ 6, so the contributions to dark matter signals from the disk can be more significant in Sommerfeld models than for WIMPs without such low-velocity ehancements. We consider the consequences of a dark disk on the observed signals of e + e − , p p-bar and γ-rays as measured by Fermi and PAMELA in models where the WIMP annihilations are into a light boson. We find that both the PAMELA and Fermi results are easily accomodated by scenarios in which a disk signal is included with the standard spherical halo signal. If contributions from the dark disk are important, limits from extrapolations to the center of the galaxy contain significant uncertainties beyond those from the spherical halo profile alone

  16. What Is Physics Problem-Solving Competency? The Views of Arnold Sommerfeld and Enrico Fermi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niss, Martin

    2018-05-01

    A central goal of physics education is to teach problem-solving competency, but the description of the nature of this competency is somehwat fragmentary and implicit in the literature. The present article uses recent historical scholarship on Arnold Sommerfeld and Enrico Fermi to identify and characterize two positions on the nature of physics problem-solving competency. The first, Sommerfeld's, is a "theory first, phenomenon second" approach. Here, the relevant problems originate in one of the theories of physics and the goal of the problem-solver is to make a mathematical analysis of the relevant equation(s) and then give a qualitative analysis of the phenomenon that arise from these mathematical results. Fermi's position is a "phenomenon first, theory second" approach, where the starting point is a physical phenomenon that is analyzed and then brought into the realm of a physics theory. The two positions are illustrated with solutions to two problems and it is shown that the two positions are reflected in problem collections of university educations in physics.

  17. Quantum potential theory

    CERN Document Server

    Schürmann, Michael

    2008-01-01

    This volume contains the revised and completed notes of lectures given at the school "Quantum Potential Theory: Structure and Applications to Physics," held at the Alfried-Krupp-Wissenschaftskolleg in Greifswald from February 26 to March 10, 2007. Quantum potential theory studies noncommutative (or quantum) analogs of classical potential theory. These lectures provide an introduction to this theory, concentrating on probabilistic potential theory and it quantum analogs, i.e. quantum Markov processes and semigroups, quantum random walks, Dirichlet forms on C* and von Neumann algebras, and boundary theory. Applications to quantum physics, in particular the filtering problem in quantum optics, are also presented.

  18. Inspirations from the theories of Bohr and Mottelson: a Canadian perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ward, D; Waddington, J C; Svensson, C E

    2016-01-01

    The theories developed by Bohr and Mottelson have inspired much of the world-wide experimental investigation into the structure of the atomic nucleus. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the awarding of their Nobel prize, we reflect on some of the experimental developments made in understanding the structure of nuclei. We have chosen to focus on experiments performed in Canada, or having strong ties to Canada, and the work included here spans virtually the whole of the second half of the 20th century. The 8π Spectrometer, which figures prominently in this story, was a novel departure for funding science in Canada that involved an intimate collaboration between a Crown Corporation (Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd) and University research, and enabled many of the insights discussed here. (invited comment)

  19. On the calculation of linear stability with the aid of asymptotic solutions of Orr-Sommerfeld equation, 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujimura, Kaoru

    1980-11-01

    The numerical treatment of Orr-Sommerfeld equation which is the fundamental equation of linear hydrodynamic stability theory is described. Present calculation procedure is applied to the two-dimensional quasi-parallel flow for which linearized disturbance equation (Orr-Sommerfeld equation) contains one simple turning point and αR >> 1. The numerical procedure for this problem and one numerical example for Jeffery-Hamel flow (J-H III 1 ) are presented. These treatment can be extended to the other velocity profiles by slight midifications. (author)

  20. Karl Popper's Quantum Ghost

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shields, William

    2004-05-01

    Karl Popper, though not trained as a physicist and embarrassed early in his career by a physics error pointed out by Einstein and Bohr, ultimately made substantial contributions to the interpretation of quantum mechanics. As was often the case, Popper initially formulated his position by criticizing the views of others - in this case Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg. Underlying Popper's criticism was his belief that, first, the "standard interpretation" of quantum mechanics, sometimes called the Copenhagen interpretation, abandoned scientific realism and second, the assertion that quantum theory was "complete" (an assertion rejected by Einstein among others) amounted to an unfalsifiable claim. Popper insisted that the most basic predictions of quantum mechanics should continue to be tested, with an eye towards falsification rather than mere adding of decimal places to confirmatory experiments. His persistent attacks on the Copenhagen interpretation were aimed not at the uncertainty principle itself and the formalism from which it was derived, but at the acceptance by physicists of an unclear epistemology and ontology that left critical questions unanswered. In 1999, physicists at the University of Maryland conducted a version of Popper's Experiment, re-igniting the debate over quantum predictions and the role of locality in physics.

  1. A Sommerfeld toolbox for colored dark sectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Hedri, Sonia; Kaminska, Anna; Vries, Maikel de

    2017-01-01

    We present analytical formulas for the Sommerfeld corrections to the annihilation of massive colored particles into quarks and gluons through the strong interaction. These corrections are essential to accurately compute the dark matter relic density for coannihilation with colored partners. Our formulas allow us to compute the Sommerfeld effect, not only for the lowest term in the angular momentum expansion of the amplitude, but for all orders in the partial wave expansion. In particular, we carefully account for the effects of the spin of the annihilating particle on the symmetry of the two-particle wave function. This work focuses on strongly interacting particles of arbitrary spin in the triplet, sextet and octet color representations. For typical velocities during freeze-out, we find that including Sommerfeld corrections on the next-to-leading order partial wave leads to modifications of up to 10 to 20 percent on the total annihilation cross section. Complementary to QCD, we generalize our results to particles charged under an arbitrary unbroken SU(N) gauge group, as encountered in dark glueball models. In connection with this paper a Mathematica notebook is provided to compute the Sommerfeld corrections for colored particles up to arbitrary order in the angular momentum expansion. (orig.)

  2. A Sommerfeld toolbox for colored dark sectors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    El Hedri, Sonia; Kaminska, Anna; Vries, Maikel de [Mainz Univ., PRISMA Cluster of Excellence and Mainz Inst. for Theoretical Physics (Germany)

    2017-09-15

    We present analytical formulas for the Sommerfeld corrections to the annihilation of massive colored particles into quarks and gluons through the strong interaction. These corrections are essential to accurately compute the dark matter relic density for coannihilation with colored partners. Our formulas allow us to compute the Sommerfeld effect, not only for the lowest term in the angular momentum expansion of the amplitude, but for all orders in the partial wave expansion. In particular, we carefully account for the effects of the spin of the annihilating particle on the symmetry of the two-particle wave function. This work focuses on strongly interacting particles of arbitrary spin in the triplet, sextet and octet color representations. For typical velocities during freeze-out, we find that including Sommerfeld corrections on the next-to-leading order partial wave leads to modifications of up to 10 to 20 percent on the total annihilation cross section. Complementary to QCD, we generalize our results to particles charged under an arbitrary unbroken SU(N) gauge group, as encountered in dark glueball models. In connection with this paper a Mathematica notebook is provided to compute the Sommerfeld corrections for colored particles up to arbitrary order in the angular momentum expansion. (orig.)

  3. A Sommerfeld toolbox for colored dark sectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Hedri, Sonia; Kaminska, Anna; de Vries, Maikel

    2017-09-01

    We present analytical formulas for the Sommerfeld corrections to the annihilation of massive colored particles into quarks and gluons through the strong interaction. These corrections are essential to accurately compute the dark matter relic density for coannihilation with colored partners. Our formulas allow us to compute the Sommerfeld effect, not only for the lowest term in the angular momentum expansion of the amplitude, but for all orders in the partial wave expansion. In particular, we carefully account for the effects of the spin of the annihilating particle on the symmetry of the two-particle wave function. This work focuses on strongly interacting particles of arbitrary spin in the triplet, sextet and octet color representations. For typical velocities during freeze-out, we find that including Sommerfeld corrections on the next-to-leading order partial wave leads to modifications of up to 10 to 20 percent on the total annihilation cross section. Complementary to QCD, we generalize our results to particles charged under an arbitrary unbroken SU( N) gauge group, as encountered in dark glueball models. In connection with this paper a Mathematica notebook is provided to compute the Sommerfeld corrections for colored particles up to arbitrary order in the angular momentum expansion.

  4. Portrait of Gunnar Källén a physics shooting star and poet of early quantum field theory

    CERN Document Server

    2014-01-01

    Wolfgang Pauli referred to him as 'my discovery,' Robert Oppenheimer described him as 'one of the most gifted theorists' and Niels Bohr found him enormously stimulating. Who was the man in question, Gunnar Källén (1926-1968)? His appearance in the physics sky was like a shooting star. His contributions to the scientific debate caused excitement among young and old. Similar to his friend and mentor, Wolfgang Pauli, he demanded honesty and rigor in physics - a distinct dividing line between fact and speculation. In his obituary, Arthur S. Wightman would write: 'Gunnar Källén was a proud continuer of the tradition in quantum field theory established by Wolfgang Pauli. His papers on quantum electrodynamics in the period 1950-1954 carried the non-perturbative approach to quantum electrodynamics forward to a point beyond which very little essential progress has been made up to the present day. At the time I was trying to puzzle out the grammar of the language of quantum field theory, and here was Källén al...

  5. Bohr and Dirac*

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    IAS Admin

    We present an account of the work of Niels Bohr and Paul Dirac, their interactions and personal- ities. 1. Introduction. In this essay I would like to convey to my readers some- thing about the personalities and work of Niels Bohr and Paul Dirac, juxtaposed against one another. Let me hope that the portraits I will paint of these ...

  6. Einstein's Revolutionary Light-Quantum Hypothesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stuewer, Roger H.

    2005-05-01

    The paper in which Albert Einstein proposed his light-quantum hypothesis was the only one of his great papers of 1905 that he himself termed ``revolutionary.'' Contrary to widespread belief, Einstein did not propose his light-quantum hypothesis ``to explain the photoelectric effect.'' Instead, he based his argument for light quanta on the statistical interpretation of the second law of thermodynamics, with the photoelectric effect being only one of three phenomena that he offered as possible experimental support for it. I will discuss Einstein's light-quantum hypothesis of 1905 and his introduction of the wave-particle duality in 1909 and then turn to the reception of his work on light quanta by his contemporaries. We will examine the reasons that prominent physicists advanced to reject Einstein's light-quantum hypothesis in succeeding years. Those physicists included Robert A. Millikan, even though he provided convincing experimental proof of the validity of Einstein's equation of the photoelectric effect in 1915. The turning point came after Arthur Holly Compton discovered the Compton effect in late 1922, but even then Compton's discovery was contested both on experimental and on theoretical grounds. Niels Bohr, in particular, had never accepted the reality of light quanta and now, in 1924, proposed a theory, the Bohr-Kramers-Slater theory, which assumed that energy and momentum were conserved only statistically in microscopic interactions. Only after that theory was disproved experimentally in 1925 was Einstein's revolutionary light-quantum hypothesis generally accepted by physicists---a full two decades after Einstein had proposed it.

  7. Quantum decision theory as quantum theory of measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yukalov, V.I.; Sornette, D.

    2008-01-01

    We present a general theory of quantum information processing devices, that can be applied to human decision makers, to atomic multimode registers, or to molecular high-spin registers. Our quantum decision theory is a generalization of the quantum theory of measurement, endowed with an action ring, a prospect lattice and a probability operator measure. The algebra of probability operators plays the role of the algebra of local observables. Because of the composite nature of prospects and of the entangling properties of the probability operators, quantum interference terms appear, which make actions noncommutative and the prospect probabilities nonadditive. The theory provides the basis for explaining a variety of paradoxes typical of the application of classical utility theory to real human decision making. The principal advantage of our approach is that it is formulated as a self-consistent mathematical theory, which allows us to explain not just one effect but actually all known paradoxes in human decision making. Being general, the approach can serve as a tool for characterizing quantum information processing by means of atomic, molecular, and condensed-matter systems

  8. Quantum theory of measurements as quantum decision theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yukalov, V I; Sornette, D

    2015-01-01

    Theory of quantum measurements is often classified as decision theory. An event in decision theory corresponds to the measurement of an observable. This analogy looks clear for operationally testable simple events. However, the situation is essentially more complicated in the case of composite events. The most difficult point is the relation between decisions under uncertainty and measurements under uncertainty. We suggest a unified language for describing the processes of quantum decision making and quantum measurements. The notion of quantum measurements under uncertainty is introduced. We show that the correct mathematical foundation for the theory of measurements under uncertainty, as well as for quantum decision theory dealing with uncertain events, requires the use of positive operator-valued measure that is a generalization of projection-valued measure. The latter is appropriate for operationally testable events, while the former is necessary for characterizing operationally uncertain events. In both decision making and quantum measurements, one has to distinguish composite nonentangled events from composite entangled events. Quantum probability can be essentially different from classical probability only for entangled events. The necessary condition for the appearance of an interference term in the quantum probability is the occurrence of entangled prospects and the existence of an entangled strategic state of a decision maker or of an entangled statistical state of a measuring device

  9. Is Quantum Gravity a Super-Quantum Theory?

    OpenAIRE

    Chang, Lay Nam; Lewis, Zachary; Minic, Djordje; Takeuchi, Tatsu

    2013-01-01

    We argue that quantum gravity should be a super-quantum theory, that is, a theory whose non-local correlations are stronger than those of canonical quantum theory. As a super-quantum theory, quantum gravity should display distinct experimentally observable super-correlations of entangled stringy states.

  10. Quantum Einstein, Bohr and the great debate about the nature of reality

    CERN Document Server

    Kumar, Manjit

    2008-01-01

    For most people, quantum theory is a byword for mysterious, impenetrable science. And yet for many years it was equally baffling for scientists themselves. Manjit Kumar gives a dramatic and superbly-written history of this fundamental scientific revolution, and the divisive debate at its heart.  For 60 years most physicists believed that quantum theory denied the very existence of reality itself. Yet Kumar shows how the golden age of physics ignited the greatest intellectual debate of the twentieth century.  Quantum sets the science in the context of the great upheavals of the modern age. In 1

  11. Quantum relativity theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banai, M.

    1983-11-01

    A quantum relativity theory formulated in terms of Davis' quantum relativity principle is outlined. The first task in this theory as in classical relativity theory is to model space-time, the arena of natural processes. It is argued that the quantum space-time models of Banai introduced in an earlier paper is formulated in terms of Davis' quantum relativity. Then it is shown that the recently proposed classical relativistic quantum theory of Prugovecki and his corresponding classical relativistic quantum model of space-time open the way to introduce in a consistent way the quantum space-time model (the 'canonically quantized Minkowski space') proposed by Banai earlier. The main new aspect of the quantum mechanics of the quantum relativistic particles is, in this model of space-time, that it provides a true mass eigenvalue problem and, that the excited mass states of such particles can be interpreted as classifically relativistic (massive) quantum particles ('elementary particles'). The question of field theory over quantum relativistic models of space-time is also discussed. Finally, it is suggested that 'quarks' should be considered as quantum relativistic particles. (author)

  12. Quantum relativity theory and quantum space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banai, M.

    1984-01-01

    A quantum relativity theory formulated in terms of Davis' quantum relativity principle is outlined. The first task in this theory as in classical relativity theory is to model space-time, the arena of natural processes. It is shown that the quantum space-time models of Banai introduced in another paper is formulated in terms of Davis's quantum relativity. The recently proposed classical relativistic quantum theory of Prugovecki and his corresponding classical relativistic quantum model of space-time open the way to introduce, in a consistent way, the quantum space-time model (the quantum substitute of Minkowski space) of Banai proposed in the paper mentioned. The goal of quantum mechanics of quantum relativistic particles living in this model of space-time is to predict the rest mass system properties of classically relativistic (massive) quantum particles (''elementary particles''). The main new aspect of this quantum mechanics is that it provides a true mass eigenvalue problem, and that the excited mass states of quantum relativistic particles can be interpreted as elementary particles. The question of field theory over quantum relativistic model of space-time is also discussed. Finally it is suggested that ''quarks'' should be considered as quantum relativistic particles. (author)

  13. Quantum Integers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khrennikov, Andrei; Klein, Moshe; Mor, Tal

    2010-01-01

    In number theory, a partition of a positive integer n is a way of writing n as a sum of positive integers. The number of partitions of n is given by the partition function p(n). Inspired by quantum information processing, we extend the concept of partitions in number theory as follows: for an integer n, we treat each partition as a basis state of a quantum system representing that number n, so that the Hilbert-space that corresponds to that integer n is of dimension p(n); the 'classical integer' n can thus be generalized into a (pure) quantum state ||ψ(n) > which is a superposition of the partitions of n, in the same way that a quantum bit (qubit) is a generalization of a classical bit. More generally, ρ(n) is a density matrix in that same Hilbert-space (a probability distribution over pure states). Inspired by the notion of quantum numbers in quantum theory (such as in Bohr's model of the atom), we then try to go beyond the partitions, by defining (via recursion) the notion of 'sub-partitions' in number theory. Combining the two notions mentioned above, sub-partitions and quantum integers, we finally provide an alternative definition of the quantum integers [the pure-state |ψ'(n)> and the mixed-state ρ'(n),] this time using the sub-partitions as the basis states instead of the partitions, for describing the quantum number that corresponds to the integer n.

  14. Understand quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Omnes, R.

    2000-01-01

    The author presents the interpretation of quantum mechanics in a simple and direct way. This book may be considered as a complement of specialized books whose aim is to present the mathematical developments of quantum mechanics. As early as the beginning of quantum theory, Bohr, Heisenberg and Pauli proposed the basis of what is today called the interpretation of Copenhagen. This interpretation is still valid but 2 important discoveries have led to renew some aspects of the interpretation of Copenhagen. The first one was the discovery of the decoherence phenomenon which is responsible for the absence of quantum interferences in the macroscopic world. The second discovery was the achievement of the complete derivation of classical physics from quantum physics, it means that the classical determinism fits in the framework of quantum probabilism. A short summary ends each chapter. (A.C.)

  15. Quantum groups, quantum categories and quantum field theory

    CERN Document Server

    Fröhlich, Jürg

    1993-01-01

    This book reviews recent results on low-dimensional quantum field theories and their connection with quantum group theory and the theory of braided, balanced tensor categories. It presents detailed, mathematically precise introductions to these subjects and then continues with new results. Among the main results are a detailed analysis of the representation theory of U (sl ), for q a primitive root of unity, and a semi-simple quotient thereof, a classfication of braided tensor categories generated by an object of q-dimension less than two, and an application of these results to the theory of sectors in algebraic quantum field theory. This clarifies the notion of "quantized symmetries" in quantum fieldtheory. The reader is expected to be familiar with basic notions and resultsin algebra. The book is intended for research mathematicians, mathematical physicists and graduate students.

  16. Sommerfeld-Watson transformation for nuclear fission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alexandru, G.

    1978-01-01

    It is proved that the fission matrix element can be written like a Sommerfeld-Watson relation. This leads to a dispersion relation for the fission process in which the substraction term is uniquely determined. (author)

  17. The quantum epoché.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pylkkänen, Paavo

    2015-12-01

    The theme of phenomenology and quantum physics is here tackled by examining some basic interpretational issues in quantum physics. One key issue in quantum theory from the very beginning has been whether it is possible to provide a quantum ontology of particles in motion in the same way as in classical physics, or whether we are restricted to stay within a more limited view of quantum systems, in terms of complementary but mutually exclusive phenomena. In phenomenological terms we could describe the situation by saying that according to the usual interpretation of quantum theory (especially Niels Bohr's), quantum phenomena require a kind of epoché (i.e. a suspension of assumptions about reality at the quantum level). However, there are other interpretations (especially David Bohm's) that seem to re-establish the possibility of a mind-independent ontology at the quantum level. We will show that even such ontological interpretations contain novel, non-classical features, which require them to give a special role to "phenomena" or "appearances", a role not encountered in classical physics. We will conclude that while ontological interpretations of quantum theory are possible, quantum theory implies the need of a certain kind of epoché even for this type of interpretations. While different from the epoché connected to phenomenological description, the "quantum epoché" nevertheless points to a potentially interesting parallel between phenomenology and quantum philosophy. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  18. Quantum theory. 3. ed.

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kiefer, C.

    2004-01-01

    The following topics are dealt with: Particles and waves, the superposition principle and probability interpretation, the uncertainty relation, spin, the Schroedinger equation, wave functions, symmetries, the hydrogen atom, atoms with many electrons, Schroedinger's cat and the Einstein-podolsky-Rosen problem, the Bell inequalities, the classical limit, quantum systems in the electromagnetic field, solids and quantum liquids, quantum information, quantum field theory, quantum theory and gravitation, the mathematical formalism of quantum theory. (HSI)

  19. Arnold Sommerfeld

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    IAS Admin

    After another year for a teaching diploma, and then a year of military service, he moved in ... He gave the first ever courses on relativity and quantum theory as he was ... Hearty congratulations on your fine discovery and best regards, yours,.

  20. Quantum theory without reduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cini, Marcello; Levy-Leblond, J.-M.

    1990-01-01

    Quantum theory offers a strange, and perhaps unique, case in the history of science. Although research into its roots has provided important results in recent years, the debate goes on. Some theorists argue that quantum theory is weakened by the inclusion of the so called 'reduction of the state vector' in its foundations. Quantum Theory without Reduction presents arguments in favour of quantum theory as a consistent and complete theory without this reduction, and which is capable of explaining all known features of the measurement problem. This collection of invited contributions defines and explores different aspects of this issue, bringing an old debate into a new perspective, and leading to a more satisfying consensus about quantum theory. (author)

  1. Quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ryder, L.H.

    1985-01-01

    This introduction to the ideas and techniques of quantum field theory presents the material as simply as possible and is designed for graduate research students. After a brief survey of particle physics, the quantum theory of scalar and spinor fields and then of gauge fields, is developed. The emphasis throughout is on functional methods, which have played a large part in modern field theory. The book concludes with a bridge survey of ''topological'' objects in field theory and assumes a knowledge of quantum mechanics and special relativity

  2. On the Character of Quantum Law: Complementarity, Entanglement, and Information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plotnitsky, Arkady

    2017-08-01

    This article considers the relationships between the character of physical law in quantum theory and Bohr's concept of complementarity, under the assumption of the unrepresentable and possibly inconceivable nature of quantum objects and processes, an assumption that may be seen as the most radical departure from realism currently available. Complementarity, the article argues, is a reflection of the fact that, as against classical physics or relativity, the behavior of quantum objects of the same type, say, all electrons, is not governed by the same physical law in all contexts, specifically in complementary contexts. On the other hand, the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics offers correct probabilistic or statistical predictions (no other predictions are possible on experimental grounds) in all contexts, here, again, under the assumption that quantum objects themselves and their behavior are beyond representation or even conception. Bohr, in this connection, spoke of "an entirely new situation as regards the description of physical phenomena that, the notion of complementarity aims at characterizing." The article also considers the relationships among complementarity, entanglement, and quantum information, by basing these relationships on this understanding of complementarity.

  3. Quantum biological information theory

    CERN Document Server

    Djordjevic, Ivan B

    2016-01-01

    This book is a self-contained, tutorial-based introduction to quantum information theory and quantum biology. It serves as a single-source reference to the topic for researchers in bioengineering, communications engineering, electrical engineering, applied mathematics, biology, computer science, and physics. The book provides all the essential principles of the quantum biological information theory required to describe the quantum information transfer from DNA to proteins, the sources of genetic noise and genetic errors as well as their effects. Integrates quantum information and quantum biology concepts; Assumes only knowledge of basic concepts of vector algebra at undergraduate level; Provides a thorough introduction to basic concepts of quantum information processing, quantum information theory, and quantum biology; Includes in-depth discussion of the quantum biological channel modelling, quantum biological channel capacity calculation, quantum models of aging, quantum models of evolution, quantum models o...

  4. Algebraic quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foroutan, A.

    1996-12-01

    The basic assumption that the complete information relevant for a relativistic, local quantum theory is contained in the net structure of the local observables of this theory results first of all in a concise formulation of the algebraic structure of the superselection theory and an intrinsic formulation of charge composition, charge conjugation and the statistics of an algebraic quantum field theory. In a next step, the locality of massive particles together with their spectral properties are wed for the formulation of a selection criterion which opens the access to the massive, non-abelian quantum gauge theories. The role of the electric charge as a superselection rule results in the introduction of charge classes which in term lead to a set of quantum states with optimum localization properties. Finally, the asymptotic observables of quantum electrodynamics are investigated within the framework of algebraic quantum field theory. (author)

  5. Niels Bohr and Complementarity An Introduction

    CERN Document Server

    Plotnitsky, Arkady

    2012-01-01

    This book offers a discussion of Niels Bohr’s conception of “complementarity,” arguably his greatest contribution to physics and philosophy. By tracing Bohr’s work from his 1913 atomic theory to the introduction and then refinement of the idea of complementarity, and by explicating different meanings of “complementarity” in Bohr and the relationships between it and Bohr’s other concepts, the book aims to offer a contained and accessible, and yet sufficiently comprehensive account of Bohr’s work on complementarity and its significance.

  6. Bohr vs. Einstein: Fortolkning af kvantemekanikken

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Christian Kraglund; Wade, Andrew Christopher James

    2013-01-01

    Siden 1913, da Bohr fremlagde sin kvantemekaniske model for atomet, har fysikere diskuteret, hvordan kvan- temekanikken skal fortolkes. Specielt aktive i denne diskussion var Bohr og Einstein, som havde modstridende opfattelser af, hvordan kvantemekanikken skulle forstås. Kan katte være både...... levende og døde på samme tid? Kan vi teleportere partikler mellem Månen og Jorden? Disse spørgsmål, og mange flere, forsøgte Bohr og Einstein at besvare, og det vil vi ligeledes i denne artikel....

  7. Quaternionic quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adler, S.L.

    1986-01-01

    In this paper the author describes a new kind of quantum mechanics or quantum field theory based on quaternions. Quaternionic quantum mechanics has a Schrodinger equation, a Dirac transformation theory, and a functional integral. Quaternionic quantum mechanics does not seem to have (except in the complex quantum mechanics specialization): A correspondence principle, and beyond this a commuting tensor product, asymptotic states, an S-matrix, a canonical formalism, coherent states or a Euclidean continuation. A new kind of quantum mechanics exists. There are many interesting formal questions to study, which should enable one to decide whether quaternionic quantum field theory is relevant for particle physics

  8. Quantum field theory II introductions to quantum gravity, supersymmetry and string theory

    CERN Document Server

    Manoukian, Edouard B

    2016-01-01

    This book takes a pedagogical approach to explaining quantum gravity, supersymmetry and string theory in a coherent way. It is aimed at graduate students and researchers in quantum field theory and high-energy physics. The first part of the book introduces quantum gravity, without requiring previous knowledge of general relativity (GR). The necessary geometrical aspects are derived afresh leading to explicit general Lagrangians for gravity, including that of general relativity. The quantum aspect of gravitation, as described by the graviton, is introduced and perturbative quantum GR is discussed. The Schwinger-DeWitt formalism is developed to compute the one-loop contribution to the theory and renormalizability aspects of the perturbative theory are also discussed. This follows by introducing only the very basics of a non-perturbative, background-independent, formulation of quantum gravity, referred to as “loop quantum gravity”, which gives rise to a quantization of space. In the second part the author in...

  9. Quantum field theory of fluids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gripaios, Ben; Sutherland, Dave

    2015-02-20

    The quantum theory of fields is largely based on studying perturbations around noninteracting, or free, field theories, which correspond to a collection of quantum-mechanical harmonic oscillators. The quantum theory of an ordinary fluid is "freer", in the sense that the noninteracting theory also contains an infinite collection of quantum-mechanical free particles, corresponding to vortex modes. By computing a variety of correlation functions at tree and loop level, we give evidence that a quantum perfect fluid can be consistently formulated as a low-energy, effective field theory. We speculate that the quantum behavior is radically different from both classical fluids and quantum fields.

  10. The Sommerfeld precursor in photonic crystals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Uitham, R; Hoenders, BJ

    2006-01-01

    We calculate the Sommerfeld precursor that results after transmission of a generic electromagnetic plane wave pulse with transverse electric polarization, through a one-dimensional rectangular N-layer photonic crystal with two slabs per layer. The shape of this precursor equals the shape of the

  11. Hybrid Quantum Mechanical-Quasi-Classical Model for Evaluating Ionization and Stripping Cross Sections in Atom-Ion Collisions

    CERN Document Server

    Kaganovich, I D; Startsev, E

    2005-01-01

    Ion-atom ionization cross sections are needed in many applications employing the propagation of fast ions through matter. When experimental data or full-scale theoretical calculations are non-existent, approximate methods must be used. The most robust and easy-to-use approximations include the Born approximation of quantum mechanics and the quasi-classical approach utilizing classical mechanics together with the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule.* The simplest method to extend the validity of both approaches is to combine them, i.e., use the two different approaches but only for the regions of impact parameters in which they are valid, and sum the results to obtain the total cross section. We have recently investigated theoretically and experimentally the stripping of more than 18 different pairs of projectile and target atoms in the range of 3-38 MeV/amu to study the range of validity of various approximations. The results of the modified approach agree better with the experimental data than either the Born ...

  12. Quantum electronics basic theory

    CERN Document Server

    Fain, V M; Sanders, J H

    1969-01-01

    Quantum Electronics, Volume 1: Basic Theory is a condensed and generalized description of the many research and rapid progress done on the subject. It is translated from the Russian language. The volume describes the basic theory of quantum electronics, and shows how the concepts and equations followed in quantum electronics arise from the basic principles of theoretical physics. The book then briefly discusses the interaction of an electromagnetic field with matter. The text also covers the quantum theory of relaxation process when a quantum system approaches an equilibrium state, and explai

  13. A Historical Survey of Sir Karl Popper's Contribution to Quantum Mechanics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William M. Shields

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Sir Karl Popper (1902-1994, though not trained as a physicist and embarrassed early in his career by a physics error pointed out by Einstein and Bohr, ultimately made substantial contributions to the interpretation of quantum mechanics. As was often the case, Popper initially formulated his position by criticizing the views of others - in this case Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg. Underlying Popper's criticism was his belief that, first, the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics abandoned scientific realism and second, the assertion that quantum theory was complete (an assertion rejected by Einstein among others amounted to an unfalsifiable claim. Popper insisted that the most basic predictions of quantum mechanics should continue to be tested, with an eye towards falsification rather than mere adding of decimal places to confirmatory experiments. His persistent attacks on the Copenhagen interpretation were aimed not at the uncertainty principle itself and the formalism from which it was derived, but at the acceptance by physicists of an unclear epistemology and ontology that left critical questions unanswered. Quanta 2012; 1: 1–12.

  14. Quantum set theory and applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez, E.

    1984-01-01

    The work of von Neumann tells us that the logic of quantum mechanics is not Boolenan. This suggests the formulation of a quantum theory of sets based on quantum logic much as modern set theory is based on Boolean logic. In the first part of this dissertation such a quantum set theory is developed. In the second part, quantum set theory is proposed as a universal language for physics. A quantum topology and the beginnings of a quantum geometry are developed in this language. Finally, a toy model is studied. It gives indications of possible lines for progress in this program

  15. Effective quantum field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Georgi, H.M.

    1993-01-01

    The most appropriate description of particle interactions in the language of quantum field theory depends on the energy at which the interactions are studied; the description is in terms of an ''effective field theory'' that contains explicit reference only to those particles that are actually important at the energy being studied. The various themes of the article are: local quantum field theory, quantum electrodynamics, new physics, dimensional parameters and renormalizability, socio-dynamics of particle theory, spontaneously broken gauge theories, scale dependence, grand unified and effective field theories. 2 figs

  16. Studies in quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bender, C.M.; Mandula, J.E.; Shrauner, J.E.

    1982-01-01

    Washington University is currently conducting research in many areas of high energy theoretical and mathematical physics. These areas include: strong-coupling approximation; classical solutions of non-Abelian gauge theories; mean-field approximation in quantum field theory; path integral and coherent state representations in quantum field theory; lattice gauge calculations; the nature of perturbation theory in large orders; quark condensation in QCD; chiral symmetry breaking; the l/N expansion in quantum field theory; effective potential and action in quantum field theories, including QCD

  17. Quantum field theory with infinite component local fields as an alternative to the string theories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krasnikov, N. V.

    1987-09-01

    We show that the introduction of the infinite component local fields with higher-order derivatives in the interaction makes the theory completely ultraviolet finite. For the γ5-anomalous theories the introduction of the infinite component field makes the theory renormalizable or even superrenormalizable. I am indebted to J. Ambjōrn, P. Di Vecchia, H.B. Nielsen and L. Rozhansky for useful discussions. It is a pleasure to thank the Niels Bohr Institute (Copenhagen) where this work was completed for kind hospitality.

  18. A tribute to Niels Bohr

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kubbinga, H.

    2008-01-01

    The 3 most important scientific achievements of N.Bohr follow. First, the Bohr-Rutherford atomic model in which Thomson's electrons, Rutherford's nucleus and Planck's quanta merged together to explain the line spectra of atoms. Secondly, the compound nucleus model in which Bohr explained nuclear reactions by the production of an intermediate state by the impact of an incident nucleus: the entering projectile would hit one or more nucleons, its energy and momentum being spread over them and after a while when one or more nucleons have acquired sufficient energy they escape from the compound nucleus. And thirdly, the drop model that presents the nucleus as behaving like a liquid, with modes of surface and volume oscillations of its own, ready to become excited isotopes by incoming neutrons. (A.C.)

  19. Towards a quantum theory without 'quantization'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deutsch, D.; Texas Univ., Austin

    1984-01-01

    The paper argues the case for a quantum formulism without a reference to classical theory, in order to make progress with quantum theory. Quantum theory without classical theory; some elaboration of the pure quantum theory; and perturbation theory and the correspondence principle; are all discussed. (U.K.)

  20. Bell's theorem and quantum realism. Reassessment in light of the Schroedinger paradox

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shakur, Asif M.; Hemmick, Douglas L.

    2012-01-01

    Quantum theory presents a strange picture of the world, offering no real account of physical properties apart from observation. Neils Bohr felt that this reflected a core truth of nature: ''There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract mathematical description.'' Among the most significant developments since Bohr's day has been the theorem of John S. Bell. It is important to consider whether Bell's analysis supports such a denial of microrealism. In this book, we evaluate the situation in terms of an early work of Erwin Schroedinger. Doing so, we see how Bell's theorem is conceptually related to the Conway and Kochen Free Will theorem and also to all the major anti-realism efforts. It is easy to show that none of these analyses imply the impossibility of objective realism. We find that Schroedinger's work leads to the derivation of a new series of theoretical proofs and potential experiments, each involving ''entanglement,'' the link between particles in some quantum systems. (orig.)

  1. Discrete quantum theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanson, Andrew J; Sabry, Amr; Ortiz, Gerardo; Tai, Yu-Tsung

    2014-01-01

    We explore finite-field frameworks for quantum theory and quantum computation. The simplest theory, defined over unrestricted finite fields, is unnaturally strong. A second framework employs only finite fields with no solution to x 2 + 1 = 0, and thus permits an elegant complex representation of the extended field by adjoining i=√(−1). Quantum theories over these fields recover much of the structure of conventional quantum theory except for the condition that vanishing inner products arise only from null states; unnaturally strong computational power may still occur. Finally, we are led to consider one more framework, with further restrictions on the finite fields, that recovers a local transitive order and a locally-consistent notion of inner product with a new notion of cardinal probability. In this framework, conventional quantum mechanics and quantum computation emerge locally (though not globally) as the size of the underlying field increases. Interestingly, the framework allows one to choose separate finite fields for system description and for measurement: the size of the first field quantifies the resources needed to describe the system and the size of the second quantifies the resources used by the observer. This resource-based perspective potentially provides insights into quantitative measures for actual computational power, the complexity of quantum system definition and evolution, and the independent question of the cost of the measurement process. (paper)

  2. Quantum Link Models and Quantum Simulation of Gauge Theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiese, U.J.

    2015-01-01

    This lecture is about Quantum Link Models and Quantum Simulation of Gauge Theories. The lecture consists out of 4 parts. The first part gives a brief history of Computing and Pioneers of Quantum Computing and Quantum Simulations of Quantum Spin Systems are introduced. The 2nd lecture is about High-Temperature Superconductors versus QCD, Wilson’s Lattice QCD and Abelian Quantum Link Models. The 3rd lecture deals with Quantum Simulators for Abelian Lattice Gauge Theories and Non-Abelian Quantum Link Models. The last part of the lecture discusses Quantum Simulators mimicking ‘Nuclear’ physics and the continuum limit of D-Theorie models. (nowak)

  3. History of quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hund, F.

    1980-01-01

    History of quantum theory from quantum representations (1900) to the formation of quantum mechanics is systematically stated in the monograph. A special attention is paid to the development of ideas of quantum physics, given are schemes of this development. Quantum theory is abstractly presented as the teaching about a role, which value h characterizing elementary quantum of action, plays in the nature: in statistics - as a unit for calculating the number of possible states; in corpuscular-wave dualism for light - as a value determining the interaction of light and substance and as a component of atom dynamics; in corpuscular-wave dualism for substance. Accordingly, history of the quantum theory development is considered in the following sequence: h discovery; history of quantum statistics, history of light quanta and initial atom dynamics; crysis of this dynamics and its settlement; substance waves and in conclusion - the completion of quantum mechanics including applications and its further development

  4. Growing up with field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vajskopf, V.F.

    1982-01-01

    The article deals with the history of the development of quantum electrodynamics since the date of publishing the work by P.A.M. Dirac ''The Quantum Theory of the Emission and Absorption of Radiation''. Classic ''before-Dirac'' electrodynamics related with the names of Maxwell, Lorenz, Hertz, is outlined. Work of Bohr and Rosenfeld is shown to clarify the physical sense of quantized field and to reveal the existence of uncertainties between the strengths of different fields. The article points to the significance of the article ''Quantum theory of radiation'' by E. Fermi which clearly describes the Dirac theory of radiation, relativistic wave equation and fundamentals of quantum electrodynamics. Shown is work on elimination of troubles related with the existence of states with negative kinetic energy or with negative mass. Hypothesis on the Dirac filled-in vacuum led to understanding of the existence of antiparticles and two unknown till then fundamental processes - pair production and annihilation. Ways of fighting against the infinite quantities in quantum electrodynamics are considered. Renormalization of the theory overcame all the infinities and gave a pattern for calculation of any processes of electron interactions with electromagnetic field to any desired accuracy

  5. The divine clockwork: Bohr's correspondence principle and Nelson's stochastic mechanics for the atomic elliptic state

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Durran, Richard; Neate, Andrew; Truman, Aubrey

    2008-01-01

    We consider the Bohr correspondence limit of the Schroedinger wave function for an atomic elliptic state. We analyze this limit in the context of Nelson's stochastic mechanics, exposing an underlying deterministic dynamical system in which trajectories converge to Keplerian motion on an ellipse. This solves the long standing problem of obtaining Kepler's laws of planetary motion in a quantum mechanical setting. In this quantum mechanical setting, local mild instabilities occur in the Keplerian orbit for eccentricities greater than (1/√(2)) which do not occur classically

  6. Quantum Mechanics at the Crossroads New Perspectives from History, Philosophy and Physics

    CERN Document Server

    Evans, James

    2007-01-01

    Quantum mechanics is a beautiful, strange and successful theory that originated in the 1920s. The theory, which Niels Bohr regarded as finished and complete, has in the last few decades rapidly developed in unexpected directions. An intense new focus on the stranger aspects of the theory, including entanglement and nonlocality, has resulted in new perceptions of the foundations of quantum mechanics, as well as surprising new exploitations of quantum phenomena. Historians and philosophers of science have also renewed their attention to quantum mechanics, opening up its human dimensions and asking searching questions about its meaning. This volume brings together new insights from different vantage points: Historians of physics, such as J. L. Heilbron; philosophers of science, such as Abner Shimony and Michel Bitbol; and quantum physicists, such as Wolfgang Ketterle and Roland Omnès, join forces to tackle essential questions in quantum mechanics and its interpretation. All the authors have written for a broad ...

  7. Quantum mechanics theory and experiment

    CERN Document Server

    Beck, Mark

    2012-01-01

    This textbook presents quantum mechanics at the junior/senior undergraduate level. It is unique in that it describes not only quantum theory, but also presents five laboratories that explore truly modern aspects of quantum mechanics. These laboratories include "proving" that light contains photons, single-photon interference, and tests of local realism. The text begins by presenting the classical theory of polarization, moving on to describe the quantum theory of polarization. Analogies between the two theories minimize conceptual difficulties that students typically have when first presented with quantum mechanics. Furthermore, because the laboratories involve studying photons, using photon polarization as a prototypical quantum system allows the laboratory work to be closely integrated with the coursework. Polarization represents a two-dimensional quantum system, so the introduction to quantum mechanics uses two-dimensional state vectors and operators. This allows students to become comfortable with the mat...

  8. Morse theory interpretation of topological quantum field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Labastida, J.M.F.

    1989-01-01

    Topological quantum field theories are interpreted as a generalized form of Morse theory. This interpretation is applied to formulate the simplest topological quantum field theory: Topological quantum mechanics. The only non-trivial topological invariant corresponding to this theory is computed and identified with the Euler characteristic. Using field theoretical methods this topological invariant is calculated in different ways and in the process a proof of the Gauss-Bonnet-Chern-Avez formula as well as some results of degenerate Morse theory are obtained. (orig.)

  9. The Possibility of a New Metaphysics for Quantum Mechanics from Meinong's Theory of Objects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graffigna, Matías

    According to de Ronde it was Bohr's interpretation of Quantum Mechanics (QM) which closed the possibility of understanding physical reality beyond the realm of the actual, so establishing the Orthodox Line of Research. In this sense, it is not the task of any physical theory to look beyond the language and metaphysics supposed by classical physics, in order to account for what QM describes. If one wishes to maintain a realist position (though not nave) regarding physical theories, one seems then to be trapped by an array of concepts that do not allow to understand the main principles involved in the most successful physical theory thus far, mainly: the quantum postulate, the principle of indetermination and the superposition principle. If de Ronde is right in proposing QM can only be completed as a physical theory by the introduction of `new concepts' that admit as real a domain beyond actuality, then a new ontology that goes beyond Aristotelian and Newtonian actualism is needed. It was already in the early 20th century that misunderstood philosopher Alexius von Meinong proposed a Theory of Objects that admits a domain of being beyond existence-actuality. Member of the so called `School of Brentano', Meinong's concerns were oriented to provide an ontology of everything that can be thought of, and at the same time an intentionality theory of how objects are thought of. I wish to argue that in Meinong's theory of objects we find the rudiments of the ontology and the intentionality theory we need to account for QM's basic principles: mainly the possibility of predicating properties of non-entities, or in other words, the possibility of objectively describing a domain of what is, that is different from the domain of actual existence.

  10. Applications of quantum information theory to quantum gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smolin, L.

    2005-01-01

    Full text: I describe work by and with Fotini Markopoulou and Olaf Dreyeron the application of quantum information theory to quantum gravity. A particular application to black hole physics is described, which treats the black hole horizon as an open system, in interaction with an environment, which are the degrees of freedom in the bulk spacetime. This allows us to elucidate which quantum states of a general horizon contribute to the entropy of a Schwarzchild black hole. This case serves as an example of how methods from quantum information theory may help to elucidate how the classical limit emerges from a background independent quantum theory of gravity. (author)

  11. Compatible quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Friedberg, R; Hohenberg, P C

    2014-01-01

    Formulations of quantum mechanics (QM) can be characterized as realistic, operationalist, or a combination of the two. In this paper a realistic theory is defined as describing a closed system entirely by means of entities and concepts pertaining to the system. An operationalist theory, on the other hand, requires in addition entities external to the system. A realistic formulation comprises an ontology, the set of (mathematical) entities that describe the system, and assertions, the set of correct statements (predictions) the theory makes about the objects in the ontology. Classical mechanics is the prime example of a realistic physical theory. A straightforward generalization of classical mechanics to QM is hampered by the inconsistency of quantum properties with classical logic, a circumstance that was noted many years ago by Birkhoff and von Neumann. The present realistic formulation of the histories approach originally introduced by Griffiths, which we call ‘compatible quantum theory (CQT)’, consists of a ‘microscopic’ part (MIQM), which applies to a closed quantum system of any size, and a ‘macroscopic’ part (MAQM), which requires the participation of a large (ideally, an infinite) system. The first (MIQM) can be fully formulated based solely on the assumption of a Hilbert space ontology and the noncontextuality of probability values, relying in an essential way on Gleason's theorem and on an application to dynamics due in large part to Nistico. Thus, the present formulation, in contrast to earlier ones, derives the Born probability formulas and the consistency (decoherence) conditions for frameworks. The microscopic theory does not, however, possess a unique corpus of assertions, but rather a multiplicity of contextual truths (‘c-truths’), each one associated with a different framework. This circumstance leads us to consider the microscopic theory to be physically indeterminate and therefore incomplete, though logically coherent. The

  12. Quantum field theory

    CERN Document Server

    Mandl, Franz

    2010-01-01

    Following on from the successful first (1984) and revised (1993) editions, this extended and revised text is designed as a short and simple introduction to quantum field theory for final year physics students and for postgraduate students beginning research in theoretical and experimental particle physics. The three main objectives of the book are to: Explain the basic physics and formalism of quantum field theory To make the reader proficient in theory calculations using Feynman diagrams To introduce the reader to gauge theories, which play a central role in elementary particle physic

  13. Reconstruction of abstract quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drieschner, M.; Goernitz, T.; von Weizsaecker, C.F.

    1988-01-01

    Understanding quantum theory as a general theory of prediction, we reconstruct abstract quantum theory. Abstract means the general frame of quantum theory, without reference to a three-dimensional position space, to concepts like particle or field, or to special laws of dynamics. Reconstruction is the attempt to do this by formulating simple and plausible postulates on prediction in order to derive the basic concepts of quantum theory from them. Thereby no law of classical physics is presupposed which would then have to be quantized. We briefly discuss the relationship of theory and interpretation in physics and the fundamental role of time as a basic concept for physics. Then a number of assertions are given, formulated as succinctly as possible in order to make them easily quotable and comparable. The assertations are arranged in four groups: heuristic principles, verbal definitions of some terms, three basic postulates, and consequences. The three postulates of separable alternatives, indeterminism, and kinematics are the central points of this work. These brief assertions are commented upon, and their relationship with the interpretation of quantum theory is discussed. Also given are an outlook on the further development into concrete quantum theory and some philosophical reflections

  14. Paul Ehrenfest, Niels Bohr, and Albert Einstein: Colleagues and Friends

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein, Martin J.

    2010-09-01

    In May 1918 Paul Ehrenfest received a monograph from Niels Bohr in which Bohr had used Ehrenfest's adiabatic principle as an essential assumption for understanding atomic structure. Ehrenfest responded by inviting Bohr, whom he had never met, to give a talk at a meeting in Leiden in late April 1919, which Bohr accepted; he lived with Ehrenfest, his mathematician wife Tatyana, and their young family for two weeks. Albert Einstein was unable to attend this meeting, but in October 1919 he visited his old friend Ehrenfest and his family in Leiden, where Ehrenfest told him how much he had enjoyed and profited from Bohr's visit. Einstein first met Bohr when Bohr gave a lecture in Berlin at the end of April 1920, and the two immediately proclaimed unbounded admiration for each other as physicists and as human beings. Ehrenfest hoped that he and they would meet at the Third Solvay Conference in Brussels in early April 1921, but his hope was unfulfilled. Einstein, the only physicist from Germany who was invited to it in this bitter postwar atmosphere, decided instead to accompany Chaim Weizmann on a trip to the United States to help raise money for the new Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Bohr became so overworked with the planning and construction of his new Institute for Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen that he could only draft the first part of his Solvay report and ask Ehrenfest to present it, which Ehrenfest agreed to do following the presentation of his own report. After recovering his strength, Bohr invited Ehrenfest to give a lecture in Copenhagen that fall, and Ehrenfest, battling his deep-seated self-doubts, spent three weeks in Copenhagen in December 1921 accompanied by his daughter Tanya and her future husband, the two Ehrenfests staying with the Bohrs in their apartment in Bohr's new Institute for Theoretical Physics. Immediately after leaving Copenhagen, Ehrenfest wrote to Einstein, telling him once again that Bohr was a prodigious physicist, and again

  15. Quantum symmetry in quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schomerus, V.

    1993-02-01

    Symmetry concepts have always been of great importance for physical problems like explicit calculations, classification or model building. More recently, new 'quantum symmetries' ((quasi) quantum groups) attracted much interest in quantum theory. It is shown that all these quantum symmetries permit a conventional formulation as symmetry in quantum mechanics. Symmetry transformations can act on the Hilbert space H of physical states such that the ground state is invariant and field operators transform covariantly. Models show that one must allow for 'truncation' in the tensor product of representations of a quantum symmetry. This means that the dimension of the tensor product of two representations of dimension σ 1 and σ 2 may be strictly smaller than σ 1 σ 2 . Consistency of the transformation law of field operators local braid relations leads us to expect, that (weak) quasi quantum groups are the most general symmetries in local quantum theory. The elements of the R-matrix which appears in these local braid relations turn out to be operators on H in general. It will be explained in detail how examples of field algebras with weak quasi quantum group symmetry can be obtained. Given a set of observable field with a finite number of superselection sectors, a quantum symmetry together with a complete set of covariant field operators which obey local braid relations are constructed. A covariant transformation law for adjoint fields is not automatic but will follow when the existence of an appropriate antipode is assumed. At the example of the chiral critical Ising model, non-uniqueness of the quantum symmetry will be demonstrated. Generalized quantum symmetries yield examples of gauge symmetries in non-commutative geometry. Quasi-quantum planes are introduced as the simplest examples of quasi-associative differential geometry. (Weak) quasi quantum groups can act on them by generalized derivations much as quantum groups do in non-commutative (differential-) geometry

  16. Quantum Field Theory A Modern Perspective

    CERN Document Server

    Parameswaran Nair, V

    2005-01-01

    Quantum field theory, which started with Paul Dirac’s work shortly after the discovery of quantum mechanics, has produced an impressive and important array of results. Quantum electrodynamics, with its extremely accurate and well-tested predictions, and the standard model of electroweak and chromodynamic (nuclear) forces are examples of successful theories. Field theory has also been applied to a variety of phenomena in condensed matter physics, including superconductivity, superfluidity and the quantum Hall effect. The concept of the renormalization group has given us a new perspective on field theory in general and on critical phenomena in particular. At this stage, a strong case can be made that quantum field theory is the mathematical and intellectual framework for describing and understanding all physical phenomena, except possibly for a quantum theory of gravity. Quantum Field Theory: A Modern Perspective presents Professor Nair’s view of certain topics in field theory loosely knit together as it gr...

  17. Recent trials to verify quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paty, M.

    1974-01-01

    An account of the experiments which deal with the verification of Quantum Mechanics and the hidden variable problem is made. First, the well-known EPR paradox is recalled which, in spite of its refutation by Bohr, was the starting point of the questionning on the completeness of Quantum Mechanics and of hidden variable theories; and then Bell's theorem, which shows that the two approaches, Quantum Mechanics and hidden variables, can be put in contradiction. Thereafter the various types of experiments which have been carried out on that subject, mostly concerning the correlation measurements between two photons emitted by a quantum system are described. The most recent experimental results are diverging, some of them to confirm and some others to contradict quantum mechanics. A review of these is given; and a discussion is presented about their possible implications [fr

  18. Philosophy of physics quantum theory

    CERN Document Server

    Maudlin, Tim

    2019-01-01

    In this book, Tim Maudlin, one of the world’s leading philosophers of physics, offers a sophisticated, original introduction to the philosophy of quantum mechanics. The briefest, clearest, and most refined account of his influential approach to the subject, the book will be invaluable to all students of philosophy and physics. Quantum mechanics holds a unique place in the history of physics. It has produced the most accurate predictions of any scientific theory, but, more astonishing, there has never been any agreement about what the theory implies about physical reality. Maudlin argues that the very term “quantum theory” is a misnomer. A proper physical theory should clearly describe what is there and what it does—yet standard textbooks present quantum mechanics as a predictive recipe in search of a physical theory. In contrast, Maudlin explores three proper theories that recover the quantum predictions: the indeterministic wavefunction collapse theory of Ghirardi, Rimini, and Weber; the deterministic ...

  19. Modular groups in quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borchers, H.-J.

    2000-01-01

    The author discusses the connection of Lagrangean quantum field theory, perturbation theory, the Lehmann-Symanzik-Zimmermann theory, Wightman's quantum field theory, the Euclidean quantum field theory, and the Araki-Haag-Kastler theory of local observables with modular groups. In this connection he considers the PCT-theorem, and the tensor product decomposition. (HSI)

  20. Quantum information theory

    CERN Document Server

    Wilde, Mark M

    2017-01-01

    Developing many of the major, exciting, pre- and post-millennium developments from the ground up, this book is an ideal entry point for graduate students into quantum information theory. Significant attention is given to quantum mechanics for quantum information theory, and careful studies of the important protocols of teleportation, superdense coding, and entanglement distribution are presented. In this new edition, readers can expect to find over 100 pages of new material, including detailed discussions of Bell's theorem, the CHSH game, Tsirelson's theorem, the axiomatic approach to quantum channels, the definition of the diamond norm and its interpretation, and a proof of the Choi–Kraus theorem. Discussion of the importance of the quantum dynamic capacity formula has been completely revised, and many new exercises and references have been added. This new edition will be welcomed by the upcoming generation of quantum information theorists and the already established community of classical information theo...

  1. Braided quantum field theories and their symmetries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sasai, Yuya; Sasakura, Naoki

    2007-01-01

    Braided quantum field theories, proposed by Oeckl, can provide a framework for quantum field theories that possess Hopf algebra symmetries. In quantum field theories, symmetries lead to non-perturbative relations among correlation functions. We study Hopf algebra symmetries and such relations in the context of braided quantum field theories. We give the four algebraic conditions among Hopf algebra symmetries and braided quantum field theories that are required for the relations to hold. As concrete examples, we apply our analysis to the Poincare symmetries of two examples of noncommutative field theories. One is the effective quantum field theory of three-dimensional quantum gravity coupled to spinless particles formulated by Freidel and Livine, and the other is noncommutative field theory on the Moyal plane. We also comment on quantum field theory in κ-Minkowski spacetime. (author)

  2. Quantum kinetic theory

    CERN Document Server

    Bonitz, Michael

    2016-01-01

    This book presents quantum kinetic theory in a comprehensive way. The focus is on density operator methods and on non-equilibrium Green functions. The theory allows to rigorously treat nonequilibrium dynamics in quantum many-body systems. Of particular interest are ultrafast processes in plasmas, condensed matter and trapped atoms that are stimulated by rapidly developing experiments with short pulse lasers and free electron lasers. To describe these experiments theoretically, the most powerful approach is given by non-Markovian quantum kinetic equations that are discussed in detail, including computational aspects.

  3. Uncertainty relation and simultaneous measurements in quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Busch, P.

    1982-01-01

    In this thesis the question for the interpretation of the uncertainty relation is picked up, and a program for the justification of its individualistic interpretation is formulated. By means of quantum mechanical models for the position and momentum measurement a justification of the interpretaton has been tried by reconstruction of the origin of the uncertainties from the conditions of the measuring devices and the determination of the relation of the measured results to the object. By means of a model of the common measurement it could be shown how the uncertainty relation results from the not eliminable mutual disturbance of the devices and the uncertainty relation for the measuring system. So finally the commutation relation is conclusive. For the illustration the split experiment is discussed, first according to Heisenberg with fixed split, then for the quantum mechanical, movable split (Bohr-Einstein). (orig./HSI) [de

  4. Timeless Approach to Quantum Jumps

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ignazio Licata

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available According to the usual quantum description, the time evolution of the quantum state is continuous and deterministic except when a discontinuous and indeterministic collapse of state vector occurs. The collapse has been a central topic since the origin of the theory, although there are remarkable theoretical proposals to understand its nature, such as the Ghirardi–Rimini–Weber. Another possibility could be the assimilation of collapse with the now experimentally well established phenomenon of quantum jump, postulated by Bohr already in 1913. The challenge of nonlocality offers an opportunity to reconsider the quantum jump as a fundamental element of the logic of the physical world, rather than a subsidiary accident. We propose here a simple preliminary model that considers quantum jumps as processes of entry to and exit from the usual temporal domain to a timeless vacuum, without contradicting the quantum relativistic formalism, and we present some potential connections with particle physics. Quanta 2015; 4: 10–26.

  5. [Studies in quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-01-01

    During the period 4/1/89--3/31/90 the theoretical physics group supported by Department of Energy Contract No. AC02-78ER04915.A015 and consisting of Professors Bender and Shrauner, Associate Professor Papanicolaou, Assistant Professor Ogilvie, and Senior Research Associate Visser has made progress in many areas of theoretical and mathematical physics. Professors Bender and Shrauner, Associate Professor Papanicolaou, Assistant Professor Ogilvie, and Research Associate Visser are currently conducting research in many areas of high energy theoretical and mathematical physics. These areas include: strong-coupling approximation; classical solutions of non-Abelian gauge theories; mean-field approximation in quantum field theory; path integral and coherent state representations in quantum field theory; lattice gauge calculations; the nature of perturbation theory in large order; quark condensation in QCD; chiral symmetry breaking; the 1/N expansion in quantum field theory; effective potential and action in quantum field theories, including OCD; studies of the early universe and inflation, and quantum gravity

  6. Theory of interacting quantum fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rebenko, Alexei L.

    2012-01-01

    This monograph is devoted to the systematic presentation of foundations of the quantum field theory. Unlike numerous monographs devoted to this topic, a wide range of problems covered in this book are accompanied by their sufficiently clear interpretations and applications. An important significant feature of this monograph is the desire of the author to present mathematical problems of the quantum field theory with regard to new methods of the constructive and Euclidean field theory that appeared in the last thirty years of the 20 th century and are based on the rigorous mathematical apparatus of functional analysis, the theory of operators, and the theory of generalized functions. The monograph is useful for students, post-graduate students, and young scientists who desire to understand not only the formality of construction of the quantum field theory but also its essence and connection with the classical mechanics, relativistic classical field theory, quantum mechanics, group theory, and the theory of path integral formalism.

  7. Probabilistic structure of quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burzynski, A.

    1989-01-01

    The fundamental ideas of quantum theory are presented. It is shown that two approaches to quantum theory: Heisenberg's matrix mechanics and Schroedinger's wave mechanics, can be formulated by means of the theory of operators in Hilbert space. Some remarks on Hilbert spaces, diadic and projection operators are done. States, probabilities and observables of quantum systems are discussed and time evolution of quantum states is analysed. Some remarks on two-component systems and symmetries are given. 21 refs. (M.F.W.)

  8. Consistent Quantum Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, Robert B.

    2001-11-01

    Quantum mechanics is one of the most fundamental yet difficult subjects in physics. Nonrelativistic quantum theory is presented here in a clear and systematic fashion, integrating Born's probabilistic interpretation with Schrödinger dynamics. Basic quantum principles are illustrated with simple examples requiring no mathematics beyond linear algebra and elementary probability theory. The quantum measurement process is consistently analyzed using fundamental quantum principles without referring to measurement. These same principles are used to resolve several of the paradoxes that have long perplexed physicists, including the double slit and Schrödinger's cat. The consistent histories formalism used here was first introduced by the author, and extended by M. Gell-Mann, J. Hartle and R. Omnès. Essential for researchers yet accessible to advanced undergraduate students in physics, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science, this book is supplementary to standard textbooks. It will also be of interest to physicists and philosophers working on the foundations of quantum mechanics. Comprehensive account Written by one of the main figures in the field Paperback edition of successful work on philosophy of quantum mechanics

  9. Quantum mechanics at the crossroads. New perspectives from history, philosophy and physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Evans, J.; Thorndike, A.S.

    2007-01-01

    Quantum mechanics is a beautiful, strange and successful theory that originated in the 1920s. The theory, which Niels Bohr regarded as finished and complete, has in the last few decades rapidly developed in unexpected directions. An intense new focus on the stranger aspects of the theory, including entanglement and nonlocality, has resulted in new perceptions of the foundations of quantum mechanics, as well as surprising new exploitations of quantum phenomena. Historians and philosophers of science have also renewed their attention to quantum mechanics, opening up its human dimensions and asking searching questions about its meaning. This volume brings together new insights from different vantage points: Historians of physics, such as J. L. Heilbron; philosophers of science, such as Abner Shimony and Michel Bitbol; and quantum physicists, such as Wolfgang Ketterle and Roland Omncs, join forces to tackle essential questions in quantum mechanics and its interpretation. All the authors have written for a broad readership, and the resulting volume will appeal to everyone wishing to keep abreast of new developments in quantum mechanics, as well as its history and philosophy. (orig.)

  10. Stochastic processes and quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klauder, J.R.

    1975-01-01

    The author analyses a variety of stochastic processes, namely real time diffusion phenomena, which are analogues of imaginary time quantum theory and convariant imaginary time quantum field theory. He elaborates some standard properties involving probability measures and stochastic variables and considers a simple class of examples. Finally he develops the fact that certain stochastic theories actually exhibit divergences that simulate those of covariant quantum field theory and presents examples of both renormaizable and unrenormalizable behavior. (V.J.C.)

  11. A first course in topos quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Flori, Cecilia

    2013-01-01

    Written by a leading researcher in the field. Concise course-tested textbook. Includes worked-out problems In the last five decades various attempts to formulate theories of quantum gravity have been made, but none has fully succeeded in becoming the quantum theory of gravity. One possible explanation for this failure might be the unresolved fundamental issues in quantum theory as it stands now. Indeed, most approaches to quantum gravity adopt standard quantum theory as their starting point, with the hope that the theory's unresolved issues will get solved along the way. However, these fundamental issues may need to be solved before attempting to define a quantum theory of gravity. The present text adopts this point of view, addressing the following basic questions: What are the main conceptual issues in quantum theory? How can these issues be solved within a new theoretical framework of quantum theory? A possible way to overcome critical issues in present-day quantum physics - such as a priori assumptions about space and time that are not compatible with a theory of quantum gravity, and the impossibility of talking about systems without reference to an external observer - is through a reformulation of quantum theory in terms of a different mathematical framework called topos theory. This course-tested primer sets out to explain to graduate students and newcomers to the field alike, the reasons for choosing topos theory to resolve the above-mentioned issues and how it brings quantum physics back to looking more like a ''neo-realist'' classical physics theory again.

  12. Introduction to quantum field theory

    CERN Document Server

    Alvarez-Gaumé, Luís

    1994-01-01

    The purpose of this lecture is to review some elementary aspects of Quantum Field Theory. From the necessity to introduce quantum fields once quantum mechanics and special relativity are put together, to some of the basic practical computational tools in the subject, including the canonical quantization of simple field theories, the derivation of Feynman rules, computation of cross sections and decay rates, some introductory remarks on the treatment of unstable states and the possible realization of symmetries in a general field theory. The audience is required to have a working knowledge of quantum mechanics and special relativity and it would also be desirable to know the rudiments of relativistic quantum mechanics.

  13. Quantum group gauge theory on quantum spaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brzezinski, T.; Majid, S.

    1993-01-01

    We construct quantum group-valued canonical connections on quantum homogeneous spaces, including a q-deformed Dirac monopole on the quantum sphere of Podles quantum differential coming from the 3-D calculus of Woronowicz on SU q (2). The construction is presented within the setting of a general theory of quantum principal bundles with quantum group (Hopf algebra) fiber, associated quantum vector bundles and connection one-forms. Both the base space (spacetime) and the total space are non-commutative algebras (quantum spaces). (orig.)

  14. The Schroedinger equation and canonical perturbation theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Graffi, S.; Paul, T.

    1987-01-01

    Let T 0 (ℎ,ω)+εV be the Schroedinger operator corresponding to the classical Hamiltonian H 0 (ω)+εV, where H 0 (ω) is the d-dimensional harmonic oscillator with non-resonant frequencies ω=(ω 1 ..., ω d ) and the potential V(q 1 , ..., q d ) is an entire function of order (d+l) -1 . We prove that the algorithm of classical, canonical perturbation theory can be applied to the Schroedinger equation in the Bargmann representation. As a consequence, each term of the Rayleigh-Schroedinger series near any eigenvalue of T 0 (ℎ,ω) admits a convergent expansion in powers of ℎ of initial point the corresponding term of the classical Birkhoff expansion. Moreover if V is an even polynomial, the above result and the KAM theorem show that all eigenvalues λ n (ℎ,ε) of T 0 +εV such that nℎ coincides with a KAM torus are given, up to order ε ∞ , by a quantization formula which reduces to the Bohr-Sommerfeld one up to first order terms in ℎ. (orig.)

  15. Nonequilibrium quantum field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niemi, A.J.

    1988-01-01

    Combining the Feynman-Vernon influence functional formalism with the real-time formulation of finite-temperature quantum field theories we present a general approach to relativistic quantum field theories out of thermal equilibrium. We clarify the physical meaning of the additional fields encountered in the real-time formulation of quantum statistics and outline diagrammatic rules for perturbative nonequilibrium computations. We derive a generalization of Boltzmann's equation which gives a complete characterization of relativistic nonequilibrium phenomena. (orig.)

  16. Modern Canonical Quantum General Relativity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiemann, Thomas

    2008-11-01

    Preface; Notation and conventions; Introduction; Part I. Classical Foundations, Interpretation and the Canonical Quantisation Programme: 1. Classical Hamiltonian formulation of general relativity; 2. The problem of time, locality and the interpretation of quantum mechanics; 3. The programme of canonical quantisation; 4. The new canonical variables of Ashtekar for general relativity; Part II. Foundations of Modern Canonical Quantum General Relativity: 5. Introduction; 6. Step I: the holonomy-flux algebra [P]; 7. Step II: quantum-algebra; 8. Step III: representation theory of [A]; 9. Step IV: 1. Implementation and solution of the kinematical constraints; 10. Step V: 2. Implementation and solution of the Hamiltonian constraint; 11. Step VI: semiclassical analysis; Part III. Physical Applications: 12. Extension to standard matter; 13. Kinematical geometrical operators; 14. Spin foam models; 15. Quantum black hole physics; 16. Applications to particle physics and quantum cosmology; 17. Loop quantum gravity phenomenology; Part IV. Mathematical Tools and their Connection to Physics: 18. Tools from general topology; 19. Differential, Riemannian, symplectic and complex geometry; 20. Semianalytical category; 21. Elements of fibre bundle theory; 22. Holonomies on non-trivial fibre bundles; 23. Geometric quantisation; 24. The Dirac algorithm for field theories with constraints; 25. Tools from measure theory; 26. Elementary introduction to Gel'fand theory for Abelean C* algebras; 27. Bohr compactification of the real line; 28. Operatir -algebras and spectral theorem; 29. Refined algebraic quantisation (RAQ) and direct integral decomposition (DID); 30. Basics of harmonic analysis on compact Lie groups; 31. Spin network functions for SU(2); 32. + Functional analytical description of classical connection dynamics; Bibliography; Index.

  17. Considerations about the atomic model of Bohr

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Levada, Celso Luis; Maceti, Huemerson; Lautenschleguer, Ivan Jose; De Magalhaes Oliveira Levada, Miriam

    2013-01-01

    The Bohr model, introduced in 1913, was the end result of very important work done by various scientists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Isolated groups of investigators pursued different objectives and the genius Bohr led to a combination of a large number of knowledge to formulate the first hypothesis on the actual structure of the material.

  18. Towards quantum gravity via quantum field theory. Problems and perspectives

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fredenhagen, Klaus [II. Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, Universitaet Hamburg (Germany)

    2016-07-01

    General Relativity is a classical field theory; the standard methods for constructing a corresponding quantum field theory, however, meet severe difficulties, in particular perturbative non-renormalizability and the problem of background independence. Nevertheless, modern approaches to quantum field theory have significantly lowered these obstacles. On the side of non-renormalizability, this is the concept of effective theories, together with indications for better non-perturbative features of the renormalization group flow. On the side of background independence the main progress comes from an improved understanding of quantum field theories on generic curved spacetimes. Combining these informations, a promising approach to quantum gravity is an expansion around a classical solution which then is a quantum field theory on a given background, augmented by an identity which expresses independence against infinitesimal shifts of the background. The arising theory is expected to describe small corrections to classical general relativity. Inflationary cosmology is expected to arise as a lowest order approximation.

  19. Critique of the quantum power of judgment. A transcendental foundation of quantum objectivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pringe, H.

    2007-01-01

    In this book Kant's critique of pure ratio is considered in the framework of quantum mechanics. In this connections Bohr's thought is considered with a short view on the EPR paradox. Finally a transcendental foundation of quantum mechanics is presented. (HSI)

  20. Proceedings of quantum field theory, quantum mechanics, and quantum optics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dodonov, V.V.; Man; ko, V.I.

    1991-01-01

    This book contains papers presented at the XVIII International Colloquium on Group Theoretical Methods in Physics held in Moscow on June 4-9, 1990. Topics covered include; applications of algebraic methods in quantum field theory, quantum mechanics, quantum optics, spectrum generating groups, quantum algebras, symmetries of equations, quantum physics, coherent states, group representations and space groups

  1. Quantum information theory and quantum statistics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petz, D.

    2008-01-01

    Based on lectures given by the author, this book focuses on providing reliable introductory explanations of key concepts of quantum information theory and quantum statistics - rather than on results. The mathematically rigorous presentation is supported by numerous examples and exercises and by an appendix summarizing the relevant aspects of linear analysis. Assuming that the reader is familiar with the content of standard undergraduate courses in quantum mechanics, probability theory, linear algebra and functional analysis, the book addresses graduate students of mathematics and physics as well as theoretical and mathematical physicists. Conceived as a primer to bridge the gap between statistical physics and quantum information, a field to which the author has contributed significantly himself, it emphasizes concepts and thorough discussions of the fundamental notions to prepare the reader for deeper studies, not least through the selection of well chosen exercises. (orig.)

  2. Quantum information and relativity theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peres, Asher; Terno, Daniel R.

    2004-01-01

    This article discusses the intimate relationship between quantum mechanics, information theory, and relativity theory. Taken together these are the foundations of present-day theoretical physics, and their interrelationship is an essential part of the theory. The acquisition of information from a quantum system by an observer occurs at the interface of classical and quantum physics. The authors review the essential tools needed to describe this interface, i.e., Kraus matrices and positive-operator-valued measures. They then discuss how special relativity imposes severe restrictions on the transfer of information between distant systems and the implications of the fact that quantum entropy is not a Lorentz-covariant concept. This leads to a discussion of how it comes about that Lorentz transformations of reduced density matrices for entangled systems may not be completely positive maps. Quantum field theory is, of course, necessary for a consistent description of interactions. Its structure implies a fundamental tradeoff between detector reliability and localizability. Moreover, general relativity produces new and counterintuitive effects, particularly when black holes (or, more generally, event horizons) are involved. In this more general context the authors discuss how most of the current concepts in quantum information theory may require a reassessment

  3. The development of elementary quantum theory

    CERN Document Server

    Capellmann, Herbert

    2017-01-01

    This book traces the evolution of the ideas that eventually resulted in the elementary quantum theory in 1925/26. Further, it discusses the essential differences between the fundamental equations of Quantum Theory derived by Born and Jordan, logically comprising Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Optics, and the traditional view of the development of Quantum Mechanics. Drawing on original publications and letters written by the main protagonists of that time, it shows that Einstein’s contributions from 1905 to 1924 laid the essential foundations for the development of Quantum Theory. Einstein introduced quantization of the radiation field; Born added quantized mechanical behavior. In addition, Born recognized that Quantum Mechanics necessarily required Quantum Optics; his radical concept of truly discontinuous and statistical quantum transitions (“quantum leaps”) was directly based on Einstein’s physical concepts.

  4. Interferometric Computation Beyond Quantum Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garner, Andrew J. P.

    2018-03-01

    There are quantum solutions for computational problems that make use of interference at some stage in the algorithm. These stages can be mapped into the physical setting of a single particle travelling through a many-armed interferometer. There has been recent foundational interest in theories beyond quantum theory. Here, we present a generalized formulation of computation in the context of a many-armed interferometer, and explore how theories can differ from quantum theory and still perform distributed calculations in this set-up. We shall see that quaternionic quantum theory proves a suitable candidate, whereas box-world does not. We also find that a classical hidden variable model first presented by Spekkens (Phys Rev A 75(3): 32100, 2007) can also be used for this type of computation due to the epistemic restriction placed on the hidden variable.

  5. Fundamental Principle for Quantum Theory

    OpenAIRE

    Khrennikov, Andrei

    2002-01-01

    We propose the principle, the law of statistical balance for basic physical observables, which specifies quantum statistical theory among all other statistical theories of measurements. It seems that this principle might play in quantum theory the role that is similar to the role of Einstein's relativity principle.

  6. Hyperfunction quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagamachi, S.; Mugibayashi, N.

    1976-01-01

    The quantum field theory in terms of Fourier hyperfunctions is constructed. The test function space for hyperfunctions does not contain C infinitely functios with compact support. In spite of this defect the support concept of H-valued Fourier hyperfunctions allows to formulate the locality axiom for hyperfunction quantum field theory. (orig.) [de

  7. Quantum Field Theory in (0 + 1) Dimensions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boozer, A. D.

    2007-01-01

    We show that many of the key ideas of quantum field theory can be illustrated simply and straightforwardly by using toy models in (0 + 1) dimensions. Because quantum field theory in (0 + 1) dimensions is equivalent to quantum mechanics, these models allow us to use techniques from quantum mechanics to gain insight into quantum field theory. In…

  8. Intermediate spectral theory and quantum dynamics

    CERN Document Server

    de Oliveira, Cesar R

    2008-01-01

    The spectral theory of linear operators plays a key role in the mathematical formulation of quantum theory. Furthermore, such a rigorous mathematical foundation leads to a more profound insight into the nature of quantum mechanics. This textbook provides a concise and comprehensible introduction to the spectral theory of (unbounded) self-adjoint operators and its application in quantum dynamics. The book places emphasis on the symbiotic relationship of these two domains by (1) presenting the basic mathematics of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics of one particle, i.e., developing the spectral theory of self-adjoint operators in infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces from the beginning, and (2) giving an overview of many of the basic functional aspects of quantum theory, from its physical principles to the mathematical models. The book is intended for graduate (or advanced undergraduate) students and researchers interested in mathematical physics. It starts with linear operator theory, spectral questions and self-...

  9. M(atrix) theory: matrix quantum mechanics as a fundamental theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, Washington

    2001-01-01

    This article reviews the matrix model of M theory. M theory is an 11-dimensional quantum theory of gravity that is believed to underlie all superstring theories. M theory is currently the most plausible candidate for a theory of fundamental physics which reconciles gravity and quantum field theory in a realistic fashion. Evidence for M theory is still only circumstantial -- no complete background-independent formulation of the theory exists as yet. Matrix theory was first developed as a regularized theory of a supersymmetric quantum membrane. More recently, it has appeared in a different guise as the discrete light-cone quantization of M theory in flat space. These two approaches to matrix theory are described in detail and compared. It is shown that matrix theory is a well-defined quantum theory that reduces to a supersymmetric theory of gravity at low energies. Although its fundamental degrees of freedom are essentially pointlike, higher-dimensional fluctuating objects (branes) arise through the non-Abelian structure of the matrix degrees of freedom. The problem of formulating matrix theory in a general space-time background is discussed, and the connections between matrix theory and other related models are reviewed

  10. Particles, fields and quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bongaarts, P.J.M.

    1982-01-01

    The author gives an introduction to the development of gauge theories of the fundamental interactions. Starting from classical mechanics and quantum mechanics the development of quantum electrodynamics and non-abelian gauge theories is described. (HSI)

  11. The 130 GeV gamma-ray line and Sommerfeld enhancements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Jing; Zhou, Yu-Feng

    2013-01-01

    Recently, possible indications of line spectral features in the Fermi-LAT photon spectrum towards the galactic center have been reported. If the distinct line features arise from dark matter (DM) annihilation into γX(X = γ,Z 0 or h 0 ), the corresponding annihilation cross-section is unnaturally large for typical loop-induced radiative processes. On the other hand, it is still too small to be responsible for the observed DM relic density. We show that the mechanism of Sommerfeld enhancement with scalar force-carrier can provide a simple solution to these puzzles. The possibly large Sommerfeld enhancement of the cross-section for s-wave DM annihilation can significantly reduce the required effective couplings between DM and charged particles in typical loop diagrams. The DM particles necessarily annihilate into scalar force-carriers through tree-level p-wave process, which can dominate the total DM annihilation cross-section at freeze out, resulting in the correct thermal relic density, but has subdominant contributions to the DM annihilation today due to velocity suppression. We perform detailed analysis on the effects of p-wave Sommerfeld enhancement on freeze out. The results show that with the constraints from the thermal relic density, the required effective couplings can be reduced by an order of magnitude

  12. Causal quantum theory and the collapse locality loophole

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kent, Adrian

    2005-01-01

    Causal quantum theory is an umbrella term for ordinary quantum theory modified by two hypotheses: state vector reduction is a well-defined process, and strict local causality applies. The first of these holds in some versions of Copenhagen quantum theory and need not necessarily imply practically testable deviations from ordinary quantum theory. The second implies that measurement events which are spacelike separated have no nonlocal correlations. To test this prediction, which sharply differs from standard quantum theory, requires a precise definition of state vector reduction. Formally speaking, any precise version of causal quantum theory defines a local hidden variable theory. However, causal quantum theory is most naturally seen as a variant of standard quantum theory. For that reason it seems a more serious rival to standard quantum theory than local hidden variable models relying on the locality or detector efficiency loopholes. Some plausible versions of causal quantum theory are not refuted by any Bell experiments to date, nor is it evident that they are inconsistent with other experiments. They evade refutation via a neglected loophole in Bell experiments--the collapse locality loophole--which exists because of the possible time lag between a particle entering a measurement device and a collapse taking place. Fairly definitive tests of causal versus standard quantum theory could be made by observing entangled particles separated by ≅0.1 light seconds

  13. Critique of the quantum power of judgment. A transcendental foundation of quantum objectivity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pringe, H.

    2007-07-01

    In this book Kant's critique of pure ratio is considered in the framework of quantum mechanics. In this connections Bohr's thought is considered with a short view on the EPR paradox. Finally a transcendental foundation of quantum mechanics is presented. (HSI)

  14. Interpreting quantum theory a therapeutic approach

    CERN Document Server

    Friederich, S

    2014-01-01

    Is it possible to approach quantum theory in a 'therapeutic' vein that sees its foundational problems as arising from mistaken conceptual presuppositions? The book explores the prospects for this project and, in doing so, discusses such fascinating issues as the nature of quantum states, explanation in quantum theory, and 'quantum non-locality'.

  15. A philosophical approach to quantum field theory

    CERN Document Server

    Öttinger, Hans Christian

    2015-01-01

    This text presents an intuitive and robust mathematical image of fundamental particle physics based on a novel approach to quantum field theory, which is guided by four carefully motivated metaphysical postulates. In particular, the book explores a dissipative approach to quantum field theory, which is illustrated for scalar field theory and quantum electrodynamics, and proposes an attractive explanation of the Planck scale in quantum gravity. Offering a radically new perspective on this topic, the book focuses on the conceptual foundations of quantum field theory and ontological questions. It also suggests a new stochastic simulation technique in quantum field theory which is complementary to existing ones. Encouraging rigor in a field containing many mathematical subtleties and pitfalls this text is a helpful companion for students of physics and philosophers interested in quantum field theory, and it allows readers to gain an intuitive rather than a formal understanding.

  16. Dual field theories of quantum computation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vanchurin, Vitaly

    2016-01-01

    Given two quantum states of N q-bits we are interested to find the shortest quantum circuit consisting of only one- and two- q-bit gates that would transfer one state into another. We call it the quantum maze problem for the reasons described in the paper. We argue that in a large N limit the quantum maze problem is equivalent to the problem of finding a semiclassical trajectory of some lattice field theory (the dual theory) on an N+1 dimensional space-time with geometrically flat, but topologically compact spatial slices. The spatial fundamental domain is an N dimensional hyper-rhombohedron, and the temporal direction describes transitions from an arbitrary initial state to an arbitrary target state and so the initial and final dual field theory conditions are described by these two quantum computational states. We first consider a complex Klein-Gordon field theory and argue that it can only be used to study the shortest quantum circuits which do not involve generators composed of tensor products of multiple Pauli Z matrices. Since such situation is not generic we call it the Z-problem. On the dual field theory side the Z-problem corresponds to massless excitations of the phase (Goldstone modes) that we attempt to fix using Higgs mechanism. The simplest dual theory which does not suffer from the massless excitation (or from the Z-problem) is the Abelian-Higgs model which we argue can be used for finding the shortest quantum circuits. Since every trajectory of the field theory is mapped directly to a quantum circuit, the shortest quantum circuits are identified with semiclassical trajectories. We also discuss the complexity of an actual algorithm that uses a dual theory prospective for solving the quantum maze problem and compare it with a geometric approach. We argue that it might be possible to solve the problem in sub-exponential time in 2 N , but for that we must consider the Klein-Gordon theory on curved spatial geometry and/or more complicated (than N

  17. Finite quantum field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lucha, W.; Neufeld, H.

    1986-01-01

    We investigate the relation between finiteness of a four-dimensional quantum field theory and global supersymmetry. To this end we consider the most general quantum field theory and analyse the finiteness conditions resulting from the requirement of the absence of divergent contributions to the renormalizations of the parameters of the theory. In addition to the gauge bosons, both fermions and scalar bosons turn out to be a necessary ingredient in a non-trivial finite gauge theory. In all cases discussed, the supersymmetric theory restricted by two well-known constraints on the dimensionless couplings proves to be the unique solution of the finiteness conditions. (Author)

  18. CERN Library | Cecilia Jarlskog presents "Portrait of Gunnar Källén: a physics shooting star and poet of early quantum field theory" | 16 September

    CERN Multimedia

    2014-01-01

    Wolfgang Pauli referred to him as 'my discovery', Robert Oppenheimer described him as 'one of the most gifted theorists' and Niels Bohr found him enormously stimulating. Who was the man in question, Gunnar Källén (1926-1968)?   His appearance in the physics sky was like a shooting star. His contributions to the scientific debate caused excitement among young and old. Similar to his friend and mentor, Wolfgang Pauli, he demanded honesty and rigour in physics - a distinct dividing line between fact and speculation. In his obituary, Arthur S. Wightman would write: "Gunnar Källén was a proud continuer of the tradition in quantum field theory established by Wolfgang Pauli. His papers on quantum electrodynamics in the period 1950-1954 carried the non-perturbative approach to quantum electrodynamics forward to a point beyond which very little essential progress has been made up to the present day. At the time I was trying ...

  19. A second course in topos quantum theory

    CERN Document Server

    Flori, Cecilia

    2018-01-01

    This advanced course, a sequel to the first volume of this lecture series on topos quantum theory, delves deeper into the theory, addressing further technical aspects and recent advances. These include, but are not limited to, the development of physical quantities and self-adjoint operators; insights into the quantization process; the description of an alternative, covariant version of topos quantum theory; and last but not least, the development of a new concept of spacetime. The book builds on the concepts introduced in the first volume (published as Lect. Notes Phys. 868), which presents the main building blocks of the theory and how it could provide solutions to interpretational problems in quantum theory, such as: What are the main conceptual issues in quantum theory? And how can these issues be solved within a new theoretical framework of quantum theory? These two volumes together provide a complete, basic course on topos quantum theory, offering a set of mathematical tools to readers interested in tac...

  20. Nonlocal quantum field theory and stochastic quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Namsrai, K.

    1986-01-01

    This volume presents a systematic development of the implications to both quantum mechanics and quantum field theory of the hypothesis of a stochastic structure of space-time. Some applications to elementary particle physics are also considered. Part 1 is concerned with nonlocal quantum field theory and, among other topics, deals with quantized fields, electromagnetic and weak processes, the Schroedinger equation, and functional methods and their applications. Part 2 presents an introduction to stochastic mechanics and many specific problems of interest are discussed. (Auth.)

  1. Effective quantum field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Georgi, H.M.

    1989-01-01

    Certain dimensional parameters play a crucial role in the understanding of weak and strong interactions based on SU(2) x U(1) and SU(3) symmetry group theories and of grand unified theories (GUT's) based on SU(5). These parameters are the confinement scale of quantum chromodynamics and the breaking scales of SU(2) x U(1) and SU(5). The concepts of effective quantum field theories and renormalisability are discussed with reference to the economics and ethics of research. (U.K.)

  2. Measurement theory in quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klein, G.

    1980-01-01

    It is assumed that consciousness, memory and liberty (within the limits of the quantum mechanics indeterminism) are fundamental properties of elementary particles. Then, using this assumption it is shown how measurements and observers may be introduced in a natural way in the quantum mechanics theory. There are no longer fundamental differences between macroscopic and microscopic objects, between classical and quantum objects, between observer and object. Thus, discrepancies and paradoxes have disappeared from the conventional quantum mechanics theory. One consequence of the cumulative memory of the particles is that the sum of negentropy plus information is a constant. Using this theory it is also possible to explain the 'paranormal' phenomena and what is their difference from the 'normal' ones [fr

  3. The integration of mind into physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stapp, H.P.

    1994-01-01

    The proper goal of science is a unified theory of all of nature, including our thoughts. An adequate theory of this kind will resolve the quantum measurement problem, which is to reconcile the nonclassical character of the quantum world with the classical character of our perceptions of it. A framework for such a theory is described. It weds the opposing views of Bohr and Einstein. Bohr held that quantum theory provides rules that relate aspects of our knowledge, while Einstein claimed that basic theory should describe what could be reality itself, not merely our knowledge of it

  4. The quest for reality Bohr and Wittgenstein : two complementary views

    CERN Document Server

    Stenholm, Stig

    2015-01-01

    In both science and philosophy, the twentieth century saw a radical breakdown of certainty in the human worldview, as quantum uncertainty and linguistic ambiguity destroyed the comfortable certitudes of the past. As these disciplines form the foundation for a human position in the world, a major epistemological reorganization had to take place. In this book, quantum theorist Stig Stenholm presents Bohr and Wittgenstein, in physics and in philosophy, as central figures representing this revision. Each of them took up the challenge of replacing apparent order and certainty with a provisional understanding based on limited concepts in constant flux. Stenholm concludes that the modern synthesis created by their heirs is far from satisfactory, and the story is so far an unfinished one. The book will appeal to any researcher in either discipline curious about the foundation of modern science, and works to provoke a renewal of discussion, and the eventual emergence of a reformed clarity and understanding.

  5. Some applications of the most general form of the higher-order GUP with minimal length uncertainty and maximal momentum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shababi, Homa; Chung, Won Sang

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, using the new type of D-dimensional nonperturbative Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP) which has predicted both a minimal length uncertainty and a maximal observable momentum,1 first, we obtain the maximally localized states and express their connections to [P. Pedram, Phys. Lett. B 714, 317 (2012)]. Then, in the context of our proposed GUP and using the generalized Schrödinger equation, we solve some important problems including particle in a box and one-dimensional hydrogen atom. Next, implying modified Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization, we obtain energy spectra of quantum harmonic oscillator and quantum bouncer. Finally, as an example, we investigate some statistical properties of a free particle, including partition function and internal energy, in the presence of the mentioned GUP.

  6. Quantum chemistry simulation on quantum computers: theories and experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Dawei; Xu, Boruo; Xu, Nanyang; Li, Zhaokai; Chen, Hongwei; Peng, Xinhua; Xu, Ruixue; Du, Jiangfeng

    2012-07-14

    It has been claimed that quantum computers can mimic quantum systems efficiently in the polynomial scale. Traditionally, those simulations are carried out numerically on classical computers, which are inevitably confronted with the exponential growth of required resources, with the increasing size of quantum systems. Quantum computers avoid this problem, and thus provide a possible solution for large quantum systems. In this paper, we first discuss the ideas of quantum simulation, the background of quantum simulators, their categories, and the development in both theories and experiments. We then present a brief introduction to quantum chemistry evaluated via classical computers followed by typical procedures of quantum simulation towards quantum chemistry. Reviewed are not only theoretical proposals but also proof-of-principle experimental implementations, via a small quantum computer, which include the evaluation of the static molecular eigenenergy and the simulation of chemical reaction dynamics. Although the experimental development is still behind the theory, we give prospects and suggestions for future experiments. We anticipate that in the near future quantum simulation will become a powerful tool for quantum chemistry over classical computations.

  7. Address at the opening session of the Niels Bohr Symposium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mayor, F.

    1998-01-01

    In his address at the opening session of the Niels Bohr Symposium organized jointly by UNESCO and the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen in May 1998 in order to examine the latest developments in key fields of physics, the Director General of UNESCO presented the scientific work and the spirit of Niels Bohr, emphasizing the impact of his discoveries for new openings in science and in society in general

  8. Knots, topology and quantum field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lusanna, L.

    1989-01-01

    The title of the workshop, Knots, Topology and Quantum Field Theory, accurate reflected the topics discussed. There have been important developments in mathematical and quantum field theory in the past few years, which had a large impact on physicist thinking. It is historically unusual and pleasing that these developments are taking place as a result of an intense interaction between mathematical physicists and mathematician. On the one hand, topological concepts and methods are playing an increasingly important lead to novel mathematical concepts: for instance, the study of quantum groups open a new chapter in the deformation theory of Lie algebras. These developments at present will lead to new insights into the theory of elementary particles and their interactions. In essence, the talks dealt with three, broadly defined areas of theoretical physics. One was topological quantum field theories, the other the problem of quantum groups and the third one certain aspects of more traditional field theories, such as, for instance, quantum gravity. These topics, however, are interrelated and the general theme of the workshop defies rigid classification; this was evident from the cross references to be found in almo all the talks

  9. Quantum field theory in gravitational background

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Narnhofer, H.

    1986-01-01

    The author suggests ignoring the influence of the quantum field on the gravitation as the first step to combine quantum field theory and gravitation theory, but to consider the gravitational field as fixed and thus study quantum field theory on a manifold. This subject evoked interest when thermal radiation of a black hole was predicted. The author concentrates on the free quantum field and can split the problem into two steps: the Weyl-algebra of the free field and the Wightman functional on the tangent space

  10. The birth and growth of quantum theory. From quantum hypothesis to quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peng Huanwu

    2001-01-01

    The short history covers the birth and early growth of quantum theory from 1900 to 1928, beginning with Planck's formula and the quantum hypothesis for the black-body radiation. After a description of the rise and decline of the old quantum theory in connection with its application in spectroscopy, two paths based on the rigorous formulation of the correspondence principle leading to matrix mechanics (1925) and Dirac's non-commuting q-numbers (1925) are explained. Another path based on the generalization of the wave-particle aspect of light quanta is then shown to lead to wave mechanics (1926). Among the works during the early growth of quantum mechanics in 1927-1928, representation theory, the uncertainty principle, two-electron problems, and Dirac's relativistic theory of electrons are discussed

  11. Relativity, symmetry and the structure of quantum theory

    CERN Document Server

    Klink, William H; Schweiger, Wolfgang

    Quantum theory is one of the most successful of all physical theories. Our everyday world is dominated by devices that function because of knowledge of the quantum world. Yet many, physicists and non-physicists alike, find the theory which explains the behavior of the quantum world baffling and strange. This book is the first in a series of three that argues that relativity and symmetry determine the structure of quantum theory. That is to say, the structure of quantum theory is what it is because of relativity and symmetry. There are different types of relativity, each leading to a particular type of quantum theory. This book deals specifically with what we call Newton relativity, the form of relativity built into Newtonian mechanics, and the quantum theory to which it gives rise, which we call Galilean (often misleadingly called non-relativistic) quantum theory. Key Features: • Meaning and significance of the term of relativity; discussion of the principle of relativity. • Relation of symmetry to relati...

  12. Guide to mathematical concepts of quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heinosaari, T.; Ziman, M.

    2008-01-01

    Quantum Theory is one of the pillars of modern science developed over the last hundred years. In this review we introduce, step by step, the quantum theory understood as a mathematical model describing quantum experiments. We start with splitting the experiment into two parts: a preparation process and a measurement process leading to a registration of a particular outcome. These two ingredients of the experiment are represented by states and effects, respectively. Further, the whole picture of quantum measurement will be developed and concepts of observables, instruments and measurement models representing the three different descriptions on experiments will be introduced. In the second stage, we enrich the model of the experiment by introducing the concept of quantum channel describing the system changes between preparations and measurements. At the very end we review the elementary properties of quantum entanglement. The text contains many examples and exercise covering also many topics from quantum information theory and quantum measurement theory. The goal is to give a mathematically clear and self-containing explanation of the main concepts of the modern language of quantum theory (Authors)

  13. Guide to mathematical concepts of quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heinosaari, T.; Ziman, M.

    2008-01-01

    Quantum Theory is one of the pillars of modern science developed over the last hundred years. In this review paper we introduce, step by step, the quantum theory understood as a mathematical model describing quantum experiments. We start with splitting the experiment into two parts: a preparation process and a measurement process leading to a registration of a particular outcome. These two ingredients of the experiment are represented by states and effects, respectively. Further, the whole picture of quantum measurement will be developed and concepts of observables, instruments and measurement models representing the three different descriptions on experiments will be introduced. In the second stage, we enrich the model of the experiment by introducing the concept of quantum channel describing the system changes between preparations and measurements. At the very end we review the elementary properties of quantum entanglement. The text contains many examples and exercise covering also many topics from quantum information theory and quantum measurement theory. The goal is to give a mathematically clear and self-containing explanation of the main concepts of the modern language of quantum theory. (author)

  14. Measurement incompatibility and Schrödinger-Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering in a class of probabilistic theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banik, Manik

    2015-01-01

    Steering is one of the most counter intuitive non-classical features of bipartite quantum system, first noticed by Schrödinger at the early days of quantum theory. On the other hand, measurement incompatibility is another non-classical feature of quantum theory, initially pointed out by Bohr. Recently, Quintino et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 160402 (2014)] and Uola et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 160403 (2014)] have investigated the relation between these two distinct non-classical features. They have shown that a set of measurements is not jointly measurable (i.e., incompatible) if and only if they can be used for demonstrating Schrödinger-Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering. The concept of steering has been generalized for more general abstract tensor product theories rather than just Hilbert space quantum mechanics. In this article, we discuss that the notion of measurement incompatibility can be extended for general probability theories. Further, we show that the connection between steering and measurement incompatibility holds in a border class of tensor product theories rather than just quantum theory

  15. Fundamental principles of quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bugajski, S.

    1980-01-01

    After introducing general versions of three fundamental quantum postulates - the superposition principle, the uncertainty principle and the complementarity principle - the question of whether the three principles are sufficiently strong to restrict the general Mackey description of quantum systems to the standard Hilbert-space quantum theory is discussed. An example which shows that the answer must be negative is constructed. An abstract version of the projection postulate is introduced and it is demonstrated that it could serve as the missing physical link between the general Mackey description and the standard quantum theory. (author)

  16. The quantum double in integrable quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernard, D.; LeClair, A.

    1993-01-01

    Various aspects of recent works on affine quantum group symmetry of integrable 2D quantum field theory are reviewed and further clarified. A geometrical meaning is given to the quantum double, and other properties of quantum groups. The S-matrix is identified with the universal R-matrix. Multiplicative presentations of the yangian double are analyzed. (orig.)

  17. Multilevel fitting of 235U resonance data sensitive to Bohr-and Brosa-fission channels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, M.S.

    1995-01-01

    The recent determination of the K, J dependence of the neutron induced fission cross section of 235 U by the Dubna group has led to a renewed interest in the mechanism of fission from saddle to scission. The K quantum numbers designate the so-called Bohr fission channels, which describe the fission properties at the saddle point. Certain other fission properties, e.g., the fragment mass and kinetic-energy distribution, are related to the properties of the scission point. The neutron energy dependence of the fragment kinetic energies has been measured by Hambsch et al., who analyzed their data according to a channel description of Brosa et al. How these two channel descriptions, the saddle-point Bohr channels and the scission-point Brosa channels, relate to one another is an open question, and is the subject matter of the present paper. We use the correlation coefficient between various data sets, in which variations are reported from resonance to resonance, as a measure of both-the statistical reliability of the data and of the degree to which different scission variables relate to different Bohr channels. We have carried out an adjustment of the ENDF/B-VI multilevel evaluation of the fission cross section of 235 U, one that provides a reasonably good fit to the energy dependence of the fission, capture, and total cross sections below 100 eV, and to the Bohr-channel structure deduced from an earlier measurement by Pattenden and Postma. We have also further explored the possibility of describing the data of Hambsch et al. in the Brosa-channel framework with the same set of fission-width vectors, only in a different reference system. While this approach shows promise, it is clear that better data are also needed for the neutron energy variation of the scission-point variables

  18. A general theory of quantum relativity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minic, Djordje; Tze, C.-H.

    2004-01-01

    The geometric form of standard quantum mechanics is compatible with the two postulates: (1) the laws of physics are invariant under the choice of experimental setup and (2) every quantum observation or event is intrinsically statistical. These postulates remain compatible within a background independent extension of quantum theory with a local intrinsic time implying the relativity of the concept of a quantum event. In this extension the space of quantum events becomes dynamical and only individual quantum events make sense observationally. At the core of such a general theory of quantum relativity is the three-way interplay between the symplectic form, the dynamical metric and non-integrable almost complex structure of the space of quantum events. Such a formulation provides a missing conceptual ingredient in the search for a background independent quantum theory of gravity and matter. The crucial new technical element in our scheme derives from a set of recent mathematical results on certain infinite-dimensional almost Kahler manifolds which replace the complex projective spaces of standard quantum mechanics

  19. Features of finite quantum field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boehm, M.; Denner, A.

    1987-01-01

    We analyse general features of finite quantum field theories. A quantum field theory is considered to be finite, if the corresponding renormalization constants evaluated in the dimensional regularization scheme are free from divergences in all orders of perturbation theory. We conclude that every finite renormalizable quantum field theory with fields of spin one or less must contain both scalar fields and fermion fields and nonabelian gauge fields. Some secific nonsupersymmetric models are found to be finite at the one- and two-loop level. (orig.)

  20. Holistic aspects of quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pietschmann, H.

    1987-01-01

    Aspects of quantum mechanics irreconcilable with classical physics are outlined. Quantum mechanics started with a negative statement about reality, namely: it is impossible to determine momentum and position of a particle simultaneously. Meanwhile it has generated an impressive body of predictions which can be tested and have been confirmed by suitable experiments. As a consequence a naive, local, materialistic concept of reality must be abolished and a novel approach, the holistic is introduced. This is illustrated by some examples e.g. the Pauli exclusion principle for electrons, the electron capture decay of 135 La as a model of the wavefunction reduction, the Bohr radius of the atom, electron localisation in the atom. An example from the quantum field theory is the calculation of magnetic moments of electron and muon where a particle cannot be considered separately and all other particles must be taken into account. (G.Q.)

  1. Bell-type quantum field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duerr, Detlef; Goldstein, Sheldon; Tumulka, Roderich; Zanghi, Nino

    2005-01-01

    In his paper (1986 Beables for quantum field theory Phys. Rep. 137 49-54) John S Bell proposed how to associate particle trajectories with a lattice quantum field theory, yielding what can be regarded as a vertical bar Ψ vertical bar 2 -distributed Markov process on the appropriate configuration space. A similar process can be defined in the continuum, for more or less any regularized quantum field theory; we call such processes Bell-type quantum field theories. We describe methods for explicitly constructing these processes. These concern, in addition to the definition of the Markov processes, the efficient calculation of jump rates, how to obtain the process from the processes corresponding to the free and interaction Hamiltonian alone, and how to obtain the free process from the free Hamiltonian or, alternatively, from the one-particle process by a construction analogous to 'second quantization'. As an example, we consider the process for a second quantized Dirac field in an external electromagnetic field. (topical review)

  2. Complementarity and the Nature of Uncertainty Relations in Einstein–Bohr Recoiling Slit Experiment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shogo Tanimura

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available A model of the Einstein–Bohr recoiling slit experiment is formulated in a fully quantum theoretical setting. In this model, the state and dynamics of a movable wall that has two slits in it, as well as the state of a particle incoming to the two slits, are described by quantum mechanics. Using this model, we analyzed complementarity between exhibiting an interference pattern and distinguishing the particle path. Comparing the Kennard–Robertson type and the Ozawa-type uncertainty relations, we conclude that the uncertainty relation involved in the double-slit experiment is not the Ozawa-type uncertainty relation but the Kennard-type uncertainty relation of the position and the momentum of the double-slit wall. A possible experiment to test the complementarity relation is suggested. It is also argued that various phenomena which occur at the interface of a quantum system and a classical system, including distinguishability, interference, decoherence, quantum eraser, and weak value, can be understood as aspects of entanglement. Quanta 2015; 4: 1–9.

  3. Quantum processes: A Whiteheadian interpretation of quantum field theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bain, Jonathan

    Quantum processes: A Whiteheadian interpretation of quantum field theory is an ambitious and thought-provoking exercise in physics and metaphysics, combining an erudite study of the very complex metaphysics of A.N. Whitehead with a well-informed discussion of contemporary issues in the philosophy of algebraic quantum field theory. Hättich's overall goal is to construct an interpretation of quantum field theory. He does this by translating key concepts in Whitehead's metaphysics into the language of algebraic quantum field theory. In brief, this Hättich-Whitehead (H-W, hereafter) interpretation takes "actual occasions" as the fundamental ontological entities of quantum field theory. An actual occasion is the result of two types of processes: a "transition process" in which a set of initial possibly-possessed properties for the occasion (in the form of "eternal objects") is localized to a space-time region; and a "concrescence process" in which a subset of these initial possibly-possessed properties is selected and actualized to produce the occasion. Essential to these processes is the "underlying activity", which conditions the way in which properties are initially selected and subsequently actualized. In short, under the H-W interpretation of quantum field theory, an initial set of possibly-possessed eternal objects is represented by a Boolean sublattice of the lattice of projection operators determined by a von Neumann algebra R (O) associated with a region O of Minkowski space-time, and the underlying activity is represented by a state on R (O) obtained by conditionalizing off of the vacuum state. The details associated with the H-W interpretation involve imposing constraints on these representations motivated by principles found in Whitehead's metaphysics. These details are spelled out in the three sections of the book. The first section is a summary and critique of Whitehead's metaphysics, the second section introduces the formalism of algebraic quantum field

  4. Weak Quantum Theory: Formal Framework and Selected Applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atmanspacher, Harald; Filk, Thomas; Roemer, Hartmann

    2006-01-01

    Two key concepts of quantum theory, complementarity and entanglement, are considered with respect to their significance in and beyond physics. An axiomatically formalized, weak version of quantum theory, more general than the ordinary quantum theory of physical systems, is described. Its mathematical structure generalizes the algebraic approach to ordinary quantum theory. The crucial formal feature leading to complementarity and entanglement is the non-commutativity of observables.The ordinary Hilbert space quantum mechanics can be recovered by stepwise adding the necessary features. This provides a hierarchy of formal frameworks of decreasing generality and increasing specificity. Two concrete applications, more specific than weak quantum theory and more general than ordinary quantum theory, are discussed: (i) complementarity and entanglement in classical dynamical systems, and (ii) complementarity and entanglement in the bistable perception of ambiguous stimuli

  5. Abelian Chern endash Simons theory. I. A topological quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manoliu, M.

    1998-01-01

    We give a construction of the Abelian Chern endash Simons gauge theory from the point of view of a 2+1-dimensional topological quantum field theory. The definition of the quantum theory relies on geometric quantization ideas that have been previously explored in connection to the non-Abelian Chern endash Simons theory [J. Diff. Geom. 33, 787 endash 902 (1991); Topology 32, 509 endash 529 (1993)]. We formulate the topological quantum field theory in terms of the category of extended 2- and 3-manifolds introduced in a preprint by Walker in 1991 and prove that it satisfies the axioms of unitary topological quantum field theories formulated by Atiyah [Publ. Math. Inst. Hautes Etudes Sci. Pans 68, 175 endash 186 (1989)]. copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics

  6. Fundamental tests in Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2010-01-01

    At the dawn of quantum physics, Einstein and Bohr had the dream to confine a photon in a box and to use this contraption in order to illustrate the strange laws of the quantum world. Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics has now made this dream real, allowing us to actually achieve in the laboratory variants of the thought experiments of the founding fathers of quantum theory. In our work at Ecole Normale Supérieure, we use a beam of Rydberg atoms to manipulate and probe non-destructively microwave photons trapped in a very high Q superconducting cavity. We realize ideal quantum non-demolition (QND) measurements of photon numbers, observe the radiation quantum jumps due to cavity relaxation and prepare non-classical fields such as Fock and Schrödinger cat states. Combining QND photon counting with a homodyne mixing method, we reconstruct the Wigner functions of these non-classical states and, by taking snapshots of these functions at increasing times, obtain movies of the decoherence process. These experiments ope...

  7. Quantum optical effective-medium theory and transformation quantum optics for metamaterials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wubs, Martijn; Amooghorban, Ehsan; Zhang, Jingjing

    2016-01-01

    electrodynamics of media with both loss and gain. In the second part of this paper, we present a new application of transformation optics whereby local spontaneous-emission rates of quantum emitters can be designed. This follows from an analysis how electromagnetic Green functions transform under coordinate......While typically designed to manipulate classical light, metamaterials have many potential applications for quantum optics as well. We argue why a quantum optical effective-medium theory is needed. We present such a theory for layered metamaterials that is valid for light propagation in all spatial...... directions, thereby generalizing earlier work for one-dimensional propagation. In contrast to classical effective-medium theory there is an additional effective parameter that describes quantum noise. Our results for metamaterials are based on a rather general Lagrangian theory for the quantum...

  8. Mathematical aspects of quantum field theory

    CERN Document Server

    de Faria, Edson

    2010-01-01

    Over the last century quantum field theory has made a significant impact on the formulation and solution of mathematical problems and inspired powerful advances in pure mathematics. However, most accounts are written by physicists, and mathematicians struggle to find clear definitions and statements of the concepts involved. This graduate-level introduction presents the basic ideas and tools from quantum field theory to a mathematical audience. Topics include classical and quantum mechanics, classical field theory, quantization of classical fields, perturbative quantum field theory, renormalization, and the standard model. The material is also accessible to physicists seeking a better understanding of the mathematical background, providing the necessary tools from differential geometry on such topics as connections and gauge fields, vector and spinor bundles, symmetries and group representations.

  9. From quantum gravity to quantum field theory via noncommutative geometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aastrup, Johannes; Grimstrup, Jesper Møller

    2014-01-01

    A link between canonical quantum gravity and fermionic quantum field theory is established in this paper. From a spectral triple construction, which encodes the kinematics of quantum gravity, we construct semi-classical states which, in a semi-classical limit, give a system of interacting fermions in an ambient gravitational field. The emergent interaction involves flux tubes of the gravitational field. In the additional limit, where all gravitational degrees of freedom are turned off, a free fermionic quantum field theory emerges. (paper)

  10. Introduction to quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kazakov, D.I.

    1988-01-01

    The lectures appear to be a continuation to the introduction to elementary principles of the quantum field theory. The work is aimed at constructing the formalism of standard particle interaction model. Efforts are made to exceed the limits of the standard model in the quantum field theory context. Grand unification models including strong and electrical weak interactions, supersymmetric generalizations of the standard model and grand unification theories and, finally, supergravitation theories including gravitation interaction to the universal scheme, are considered. 3 refs.; 19 figs.; 2 tabs

  11. 1. Vienna central european seminar on particle physics and quantum field theory. Advances in quantum field theory. Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hueffel, H.

    2004-01-01

    The new seminar series 'Vienna central European seminar on particle physics and quantum field theory' has been created 2004 and is intended to provide interactions between leading researchers and junior physicists. This year 'Advances in quantum field theory' has been chosen as subject and is centred on field theoretic aspects of string dualities. The lectures mainly focus on these aspects of string dualities. Further lectures regarding supersymmetric gauge theories, quantum gravity and noncommutative field theory are presented. The vast field of research concerning string dualities justifies special attention to their effects on field theory. (author)

  12. Topics in quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Svaiter, N.F.

    2006-11-01

    This paper presents some important aspects on quantum field theory, covering the following aspects: the triumph and limitations of the quantum field theory; the field theory in curved spaces - Hawking and Unruh-Davies effects; the problem of divergent theory of the zero-point; the problem of the spinning detector and the Trocheries-Takeno vacuum; the field theory at finite temperature - symmetry breaking and phase transition; the problem of the summability of the perturbative series and the perturbative expansion for the strong coupling; quantized fields in presence of classical macroscopic structures; the Parisi-Wu stochastic quantization method

  13. Structure formation constraints on Sommerfeld-enhanced dark matter annihilation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Armendariz-Picon, Cristian; Neelakanta, Jayanth T.

    2012-01-01

    We study the growth of cosmic structure in a ΛCDM universe under the assumption that dark matter self-annihilates with an averaged cross section times relative velocity that grows with the scale factor, an increase known as Sommerfeld-enhancement. Such an evolution is expected in models in which a light force carrier in the dark sector enhances the annihilation cross section of dark matter particles, and has been invoked, for instance, to explain anomalies in cosmic ray spectra reported in the past. In order to make our results as general as possible, we assume that dark matter annihilates into a relativistic species that only interacts gravitationally with the standard model. This assumption also allows us to test whether the additional relativistic species mildly favored by cosmic-microwave background data could originate from dark matter annihilation. We do not find evidence for Sommerfeld-enhanced dark matter annihilation and derive the corresponding upper limits on the annihilation cross-section

  14. Beyond quantum-classical analogies: high time for agreement?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marrocco, Michele

    Lately, many quantum-classical analogies have been investigated and published in many acknowledged journals. Such a surge of research on conceptual connections between quantum and classical physics forces us to ask whether the correspondence between the quantum and classical interpretation of the reality is deeper than the correspondence principle stated by Bohr. Here, after a short introduction to quantum-classical analogies from the recent literature, we try to examine the question from the perspective of a possible agreement between quantum and classical laws. A paradigmatic example is given in the striking equivalence between the classical Mie theory of electromagnetic scattering from spherical scatterers and the corresponding quantum-mechanical wave scattering analyzed in terms of partial waves. The key features that make the correspondence possible are examined and finally employed to deal with the fundamental blackbody problem that marks the initial separation between classical and quantum physics. The procedure allows us to recover the blackbody spectrum in classical terms and the proof is rich in consequences. Among them, the strong analogy between the quantum vacuum and its classical counterpart.

  15. Entropy, Topological Theories and Emergent Quantum Mechanics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Cabrera

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The classical thermostatics of equilibrium processes is shown to possess a quantum mechanical dual theory with a finite dimensional Hilbert space of quantum states. Specifically, the kernel of a certain Hamiltonian operator becomes the Hilbert space of quasistatic quantum mechanics. The relation of thermostatics to topological field theory is also discussed in the context of the approach of the emergence of quantum theory, where the concept of entropy plays a key role.

  16. The quantum theory of measurement

    CERN Document Server

    Busch, Paul; Mittelstaedt, Peter

    1996-01-01

    The amazing accuracy in verifying quantum effects experimentally has recently renewed interest in quantum mechanical measurement theory. In this book the authors give within the Hilbert space formulation of quantum mechanics a systematic exposition of the quantum theory of measurement. Their approach includes the concepts of unsharp objectification and of nonunitary transformations needed for a unifying description of various detailed investigations. The book addresses advanced students and researchers in physics and philosophy of science. In this second edition Chaps. II-IV have been substantially rewritten. In particular, an insolubility theorem for the objectification problem has been formulated in full generality, which includes unsharp object observables and unsharp pointers.

  17. Learning quantum field theory from elementary quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gosdzinsky, P.; Tarrach, R.

    1991-01-01

    The study of the Dirac delta potentials in more than one dimension allows the introduction within the framework of elementary quantum mechanics of many of the basic concepts of modern quantum field theory: regularization, renormalization group, asymptotic freedom, dimensional transmutation, triviality, etc. It is also interesting, by itself, as a nonstandard quantum mechanical problem

  18. Extension of PT-symmetric quantum mechanics to quantum field theory with cubic interaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bender, Carl M.; Brody, Dorje C.; Jones, Hugh F.

    2004-01-01

    It has recently been shown that a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian H possessing an unbroken PT symmetry (i) has a real spectrum that is bounded below, and (ii) defines a unitary theory of quantum mechanics with positive norm. The proof of unitarity requires a linear operator C, which was originally defined as a sum over the eigenfunctions of H. However, using this definition to calculate C is cumbersome in quantum mechanics and impossible in quantum field theory. An alternative method is devised here for calculating C directly in terms of the operator dynamical variables of the quantum theory. This method is general and applies to a variety of quantum mechanical systems having several degrees of freedom. More importantly, this method is used to calculate the C operator in quantum field theory. The C operator is a time-independent observable in PT-symmetric quantum field theory

  19. Quantum measurement and algebraic quantum field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DeFacio, B.

    1976-01-01

    It is shown that the physics and semantics of quantum measurement provide a natural interpretation of the weak neighborhoods of the states on observable algebras without invoking any ideas of ''a reading error'' or ''a measured range.'' Then the state preparation process in quantum measurement theory is shown to give the normal (or locally normal) states on the observable algebra. Some remarks are made concerning the physical implications of normal state for systems with an infinite number of degrees of freedom, including questions on open and closed algebraic theories

  20. Continuum limit of discrete Sommerfeld problems on square lattice

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    BASANT LAL SHARMA

    Sommerfeld half-plane; crack; rigid ribbon; continuum limit; Wiener–Hopf; Toeplitz ... case of which, when it approaches zero, is called 'contin- .... etc, denote constants in expressions, inequalities, etc. The ..... The latter holds on a possibly weighted space, depending ..... where jj ء jj refers to the corresponding operator norm.

  1. Theory of threshold phenomena

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hategan, Cornel

    2002-01-01

    Theory of Threshold Phenomena in Quantum Scattering is developed in terms of Reduced Scattering Matrix. Relationships of different types of threshold anomalies both to nuclear reaction mechanisms and to nuclear reaction models are established. Magnitude of threshold effect is related to spectroscopic factor of zero-energy neutron state. The Theory of Threshold Phenomena, based on Reduced Scattering Matrix, does establish relationships between different types of threshold effects and nuclear reaction mechanisms: the cusp and non-resonant potential scattering, s-wave threshold anomaly and compound nucleus resonant scattering, p-wave anomaly and quasi-resonant scattering. A threshold anomaly related to resonant or quasi resonant scattering is enhanced provided the neutron threshold state has large spectroscopic amplitude. The Theory contains, as limit cases, Cusp Theories and also results of different nuclear reactions models as Charge Exchange, Weak Coupling, Bohr and Hauser-Feshbach models. (author)

  2. Theories of quantum gravity: Pt. 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aragone, C.

    1990-01-01

    Superstrings continue to be a source of inspiration for the basic understanding of quantum gravity. They seem to provide a more fundamental arena than quantum field theory. Even though we still do not have a theory of everything, string concepts bring a new theoretical richness to research in quantum and classical gravity. Papers presented at the session on this subject are reviewed. (author)

  3. Interference and inequality in quantum decision theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheon, Taksu; Takahashi, Taiki

    2010-01-01

    The quantum decision theory is examined in its simplest form of two-condition two-choice setting. A set of inequalities to be satisfied by any quantum conditional probability describing the decision process is derived. Experimental data indicating the breakdown of classical explanations are critically examined with quantum theory using the full set of quantum phases.

  4. Interference and inequality in quantum decision theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheon, Taksu, E-mail: taksu.cheon@kochi-tech.ac.j [Laboratory of Physics, Kochi University of Technology, Tosa Yamada, Kochi 782-8502 (Japan); Takahashi, Taiki, E-mail: ttakahashi@lynx.let.hokudai.ac.j [Laboratory of Social Psychology, Department of Behavioral Science, Faculty of Letters, Hokkaido University, N.10, W.7, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810 (Japan)

    2010-12-01

    The quantum decision theory is examined in its simplest form of two-condition two-choice setting. A set of inequalities to be satisfied by any quantum conditional probability describing the decision process is derived. Experimental data indicating the breakdown of classical explanations are critically examined with quantum theory using the full set of quantum phases.

  5. The Sommerfeld enhancement in the scotogenic model with large electroweak scalar multiplets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chowdhury, Talal Ahmed [Department of Physics, University of Dhaka, P.O. Box 1000, Dhaka (Bangladesh); Nasri, Salah, E-mail: talal@du.ac.bd, E-mail: snasri@uaeu.ac.ae [Department of Physics, UAE University, P.O. Box 17551, Al-Ain (United Arab Emirates)

    2017-01-01

    We investigate the Sommerfeld enhancement (SE) in the generalized scotogenic model with large electroweak multiplets. We focus on scalar dark matter (DM) candidate of the model and compare DM annihilation cross sections to WW , ZZ , γγ and γ Z at present day in the galactic halo for scalar doublet and its immediate generalization, the quartet in their respective viable regions of parameter space. We find that larger multiplet has sizable Sommerfeld enhanced annihilation cross section compared to the doublet and because of that it is more likely to be constrained by the current H.E.S.S. results and future CTA sensitivity limits.

  6. The theory of quantum information

    CERN Document Server

    Watrous, John

    2018-01-01

    This largely self-contained book on the theory of quantum information focuses on precise mathematical formulations and proofs of fundamental facts that form the foundation of the subject. It is intended for graduate students and researchers in mathematics, computer science, and theoretical physics seeking to develop a thorough understanding of key results, proof techniques, and methodologies that are relevant to a wide range of research topics within the theory of quantum information and computation. The book is accessible to readers with an understanding of basic mathematics, including linear algebra, mathematical analysis, and probability theory. An introductory chapter summarizes these necessary mathematical prerequisites, and starting from this foundation, the book includes clear and complete proofs of all results it presents. Each subsequent chapter includes challenging exercises intended to help readers to develop their own skills for discovering proofs concerning the theory of quantum information.

  7. Two-slit experiment: quantum and classical probabilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khrennikov, Andrei

    2015-01-01

    Inter-relation between quantum and classical probability models is one of the most fundamental problems of quantum foundations. Nowadays this problem also plays an important role in quantum technologies, in quantum cryptography and the theory of quantum random generators. In this letter, we compare the viewpoint of Richard Feynman that the behavior of quantum particles cannot be described by classical probability theory with the viewpoint that quantum–classical inter-relation is more complicated (cf, in particular, with the tomographic model of quantum mechanics developed in detail by Vladimir Man'ko). As a basic example, we consider the two-slit experiment, which played a crucial role in quantum foundational debates at the beginning of quantum mechanics (QM). In particular, its analysis led Niels Bohr to the formulation of the principle of complementarity. First, we demonstrate that in complete accordance with Feynman's viewpoint, the probabilities for the two-slit experiment have the non-Kolmogorovian structure, since they violate one of basic laws of classical probability theory, the law of total probability (the heart of the Bayesian analysis). However, then we show that these probabilities can be embedded in a natural way into the classical (Kolmogorov, 1933) probability model. To do this, one has to take into account the randomness of selection of different experimental contexts, the joint consideration of which led Feynman to a conclusion about the non-classicality of quantum probability. We compare this embedding of non-Kolmogorovian quantum probabilities into the Kolmogorov model with well-known embeddings of non-Euclidean geometries into Euclidean space (e.g., the Poincaré disk model for the Lobachvesky plane). (paper)

  8. On the atomic-number similarity of the binding energies of electrons in filled shells of elements of the periodic table

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karpov, V. Ya.; Shpatakovskaya, G. V.

    2017-03-01

    An expression for the binding energies of electrons in the ground state of an atom is derived on the basis of the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule within the Thomas-Fermi model. The validity of this relation for all elements from neon to uranium is tested within a more perfect quantum-mechanical model with and without the inclusion of relativistic effects, as well as with experimental binding energies. As a result, the ordering of electronic levels in filled atomic shells is established, manifested in an approximate atomic-number similarity. It is proposed to use this scaling property to analytically estimate the binding energies of electrons in an arbitrary atom.

  9. Pilot-wave approaches to quantum field theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Struyve, Ward, E-mail: Ward.Struyve@fys.kuleuven.be [Institute of Theoretical Physics, K.U.Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Institute of Philosophy, K.U.Leuven, Kardinaal Mercierplein 2, B-3000 Leuven (Belgium)

    2011-07-08

    The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of recent work on pilot-wave approaches to quantum field theory. In such approaches, systems are not only described by their wave function, as in standard quantum theory, but also by some additional variables. In the non-relativistic pilot-wave theory of deBroglie and Bohm those variables are particle positions. In the context of quantum field theory, there are two natural choices, namely particle positions and fields. The incorporation of those variables makes it possible to provide an objective description of nature in which rather ambiguous notions such as 'measurement' and 'observer' play no fundamental role. As such, the theory is free of the conceptual difficulties, such as the measurement problem, that plague standard quantum theory.

  10. Fundamental aspects of quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gorini, V.; Frigerio, A.

    1986-01-01

    This book presents information on the following topics: general problems and crucial experiments; the classical behavior of measuring instruments; quantum interference effect for two atoms radiating a single photon; quantization and stochastic processes; quantum Markov processes driven by Bose noise; chaotic behavior in quantum mechanics; quantum ergodicity and chaos; microscopic and macroscopic levels of description; fundamental properties of the ground state of atoms and molecules; n-level systems interacting with Bosons - semiclassical limits; general aspects of gauge theories; adiabatic phase shifts for neutrons and photons; the spins of cyons and dyons; round-table discussion the the Aharonov-Bohm effect; gravity in quantum mechanics; the gravitational phase transition; anomalies and their cancellation; a new gauge without any ghost for Yang-Mills Theory; and energy density and roughening in the 3-D Ising ferromagnet

  11. Propensity, Probability, and Quantum Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ballentine, Leslie E.

    2016-08-01

    Quantum mechanics and probability theory share one peculiarity. Both have well established mathematical formalisms, yet both are subject to controversy about the meaning and interpretation of their basic concepts. Since probability plays a fundamental role in QM, the conceptual problems of one theory can affect the other. We first classify the interpretations of probability into three major classes: (a) inferential probability, (b) ensemble probability, and (c) propensity. Class (a) is the basis of inductive logic; (b) deals with the frequencies of events in repeatable experiments; (c) describes a form of causality that is weaker than determinism. An important, but neglected, paper by P. Humphreys demonstrated that propensity must differ mathematically, as well as conceptually, from probability, but he did not develop a theory of propensity. Such a theory is developed in this paper. Propensity theory shares many, but not all, of the axioms of probability theory. As a consequence, propensity supports the Law of Large Numbers from probability theory, but does not support Bayes theorem. Although there are particular problems within QM to which any of the classes of probability may be applied, it is argued that the intrinsic quantum probabilities (calculated from a state vector or density matrix) are most naturally interpreted as quantum propensities. This does not alter the familiar statistical interpretation of QM. But the interpretation of quantum states as representing knowledge is untenable. Examples show that a density matrix fails to represent knowledge.

  12. Quantum theory from questions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoehn, Philipp [Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna (Austria); Wever, Christopher [Institute for Theoretical Particle Physics, Karlsruhe (Germany)

    2016-07-01

    In contrast to relativity, quantum theory has evaded a commonly accepted apprehension, in part because of the lack of physical statements that fully characterize it. In an attempt to remedy the situation, we summarize a novel reconstruction of the explicit formalism of quantum theory (for arbitrarily many qubits) from elementary rules on an observer's information acquisition. Our approach is purely operational: we consider an observer O interrogating a system S with binary questions and define S's state as O's ''catalogue of knowledge'' about S; no ontic assumptions are necessary. From the rules, one can derive, among other things, the state spaces, the unitary group, the von Neumann evolution and show that the binary questions correspond to Pauli operators. The reconstruction also offers new structural insights in the form of novel informational charges and informational complementarity relations which define the state spaces and the unitary group. This reconstruction permits a new perspective on quantum theory.

  13. What If Quantum Theory Violates All Mathematics?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosinger, Elemér Elad

    2017-09-01

    It is shown by using a rather elementary argument in Mathematical Logic that if indeed, quantum theory does violate the famous Bell Inequalities, then quantum theory must inevitably also violate all valid mathematical statements, and in particular, such basic algebraic relations like 0 = 0, 1 = 1, 2 = 2, 3 = 3, … and so on … An interest in that result is due to the following three alternatives which it imposes upon both Physics and Mathematics: Quantum Theory is inconsistent. Quantum Theory together with Mathematics are inconsistent. Mathematics is inconsistent. In this regard one should recall that, up until now, it is not known whether Mathematics is indeed consistent.

  14. Spectral theory and quantum mechanics mathematical foundations of quantum theories, symmetries and introduction to the algebraic formulation

    CERN Document Server

    Moretti, Valter

    2017-01-01

    This book discusses the mathematical foundations of quantum theories. It offers an introductory text on linear functional analysis with a focus on Hilbert spaces, highlighting the spectral theory features that are relevant in physics. After exploring physical phenomenology, it then turns its attention to the formal and logical aspects of the theory. Further, this Second Edition collects in one volume a number of useful rigorous results on the mathematical structure of quantum mechanics focusing in particular on von Neumann algebras, Superselection rules, the various notions of Quantum Symmetry and Symmetry Groups, and including a number of fundamental results on the algebraic formulation of quantum theories. Intended for Master's and PhD students, both in physics and mathematics, the material is designed to be self-contained: it includes a summary of point-set topology and abstract measure theory, together with an appendix on differential geometry. The book also benefits established researchers by organizing ...

  15. Quantum-field theories as representations of a single $^\\ast$-algebra

    OpenAIRE

    Raab, Andreas

    2013-01-01

    We show that many well-known quantum field theories emerge as representations of a single $^\\ast$-algebra. These include free quantum field theories in flat and curved space-times, lattice quantum field theories, Wightman quantum field theories, and string theories. We prove that such theories can be approximated on lattices, and we give a rigorous definition of the continuum limit of lattice quantum field theories.

  16. Quantum theory from first principles an informational approach

    CERN Document Server

    D'Ariano, Giacomo Mauro; Perinotti, Paolo

    2017-01-01

    Quantum theory is the soul of theoretical physics. It is not just a theory of specific physical systems, but rather a new framework with universal applicability. This book shows how we can reconstruct the theory from six information-theoretical principles, by rebuilding the quantum rules from the bottom up. Step by step, the reader will learn how to master the counterintuitive aspects of the quantum world, and how to efficiently reconstruct quantum information protocols from first principles. Using intuitive graphical notation to represent equations, and with shorter and more efficient derivations, the theory can be understood and assimilated with exceptional ease. Offering a radically new perspective on the field, the book contains an efficient course of quantum theory and quantum information for undergraduates. The book is aimed at researchers, professionals, and students in physics, computer science and philosophy, as well as the curious outsider seeking a deeper understanding of the theory.

  17. De novo nonsense mutations in ASXL1 cause Bohring-Opitz syndrome

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hoischen, Alexander; van Bon, Bregje W M; Rodríguez-Santiago, Benjamín

    2011-01-01

    Bohring-Opitz syndrome is characterized by severe intellectual disability, distinctive facial features and multiple congenital malformations. We sequenced the exomes of three individuals with Bohring-Opitz syndrome and in each identified heterozygous de novo nonsense mutations in ASXL1, which...... is required for maintenance of both activation and silencing of Hox genes. In total, 7 out of 13 subjects with a Bohring-Opitz phenotype had de novo ASXL1 mutations, suggesting that the syndrome is genetically heterogeneous....

  18. Quantum paradoxes quantum theory for the perplexed

    CERN Document Server

    Aharonov, Yakir

    2005-01-01

    A Guide through the Mysteries of Quantum Physics!Yakir Aharonov is one of the pioneers in measuring theory, the nature of quantum correlations, superselection rules, and geometric phases and has been awarded numerous scientific honors. The author has contributed monumental concepts to theoretical physics, especially the Aharonov-Bohm effect and the Aharonov-Casher effect. Together with Daniel Rohrlich of the Weizmann Institute, Israel, he has written a pioneering work on the remaining mysteries of quantum mechanics. From the perspective of a preeminent researcher in the fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics, the text combines mathematical rigor with penetrating and concise language

  19. Quantum Field Theory

    CERN Document Server

    Zeidler, Eberhard

    This is the first volume of a modern introduction to quantum field theory which addresses both mathematicians and physicists ranging from advanced undergraduate students to professional scientists. The book tries to bridge the existing gap between the different languages used by mathematicians and physicists. For students of mathematics it is shown that detailed knowledge of the physical background helps to motivate the mathematical subjects and to discover interesting interrelationships between quite different mathematical topics. For students of physics, fairly advanced mathematics is presented, which is beyond the usual curriculum in physics. It is the author's goal to present the state of the art of realizing Einstein's dream of a unified theory for the four fundamental forces in the universe (gravitational, electromagnetic, strong, and weak interaction). From the reviews: "… Quantum field theory is one of the great intellectual edifices in the history of human thought. … This volume differs from othe...

  20. Causality problem in atomic physics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bor, N

    1985-10-01

    The casuality problem in atomic physics is analysed by Bohr in a wide methodological context. The first part of the paper is a short historical essay picturing the entry of statistical concepts into physics. Bohr underlines a close relationship between an unavoidably probabilitic nature of the quantum theory and quantum postulates introducing the alien-to-classical-physics concepts of integrity, individuality of atomic processes. In the second central part of the paper Bohr discusses the casuality problems in atomic physics in detail and shows that their solution requires a careful analysis of the observation process. Proceeding from the program methodological requirement to describe the measuring instrumentation operation and observation results in the language of classical physics, he explains that the statistical character of the uncertainty relationships expresses a substantial specifically quantum constraint to the applicifically of classical conceptions analyses of microphenomena. Then Bohr refines in principle the notion ''phenomenon'', as one of the central notions among those he employed for the formulation of his complementarity principle. According to bohr a phenomenon should be under-stood as an unambiguously present situation of a completed experiment. Therefore, it is erroneous to speak of the phenomenon perturbation by the observation. The final part of the article deals with the discussion of methodological parallels of the quantum theory and relativity theory.

  1. The causality problem in atomic physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bor, N.

    1985-01-01

    The casuality problem in atomic physics is analysed by Bohr in a wide methodological context. The first part of the paper is a short historical essay picturing the entry of statistical concepts into physics. Bohr underlines a close relationship between an unavoidably probabilitic nature of the quantum theory and quantum postulates introducing the alien-to-classical-physics concepts of integrity, individuality of atomic processes. In the second central part of the paper Bohr discusses the casuality problems in atomic physics in detail and shows that their solution requires a careful analysis of the observation process. Proceeding from the program methodological requirement to describe the measuring instrumentation operation and observation results in the language of classical physics, he explains that the statistical character of the uncertainty relationships expresses a substantial specifically quantum constraint to the applicifically of classical conceptions analyses of microphenomena. Then Bohr refines in principle the notion ''phenomenon'', as one of the central notions among those he employed for the formulation of his complementarity principle. According to bohr a phenomenon should be under-stood as an unambiguously present situation of a completed experiment. Therefore, it is erroneous to speak of the phenomenon perturbation by the observation. The final part of the article deals with the discussion of methodological parallels of the quantum theory and relativity theory

  2. Conceptual Foundations of Quantum Mechanics:. the Role of Evidence Theory, Quantum Sets, and Modal Logic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resconi, Germano; Klir, George J.; Pessa, Eliano

    Recognizing that syntactic and semantic structures of classical logic are not sufficient to understand the meaning of quantum phenomena, we propose in this paper a new interpretation of quantum mechanics based on evidence theory. The connection between these two theories is obtained through a new language, quantum set theory, built on a suggestion by J. Bell. Further, we give a modal logic interpretation of quantum mechanics and quantum set theory by using Kripke's semantics of modal logic based on the concept of possible worlds. This is grounded on previous work of a number of researchers (Resconi, Klir, Harmanec) who showed how to represent evidence theory and other uncertainty theories in terms of modal logic. Moreover, we also propose a reformulation of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics in terms of Kripke's semantics. We thus show how three different theoriesquantum mechanics, evidence theory, and modal logic — are interrelated. This opens, on one hand, the way to new applications of quantum mechanics within domains different from the traditional ones, and, on the other hand, the possibility of building new generalizations of quantum mechanics itself.

  3. Quantum field theory of point particles and strings

    CERN Document Server

    Hatfield, Brian

    1992-01-01

    The purpose of this book is to introduce string theory without assuming any background in quantum field theory. Part I of this book follows the development of quantum field theory for point particles, while Part II introduces strings. All of the tools and concepts that are needed to quantize strings are developed first for point particles. Thus, Part I presents the main framework of quantum field theory and provides for a coherent development of the generalization and application of quantum field theory for point particles to strings.Part II emphasizes the quantization of the bosonic string.

  4. Proceedings of the symposium on the foundations of modern physics, 1987

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lahti, P.

    1987-01-01

    This book discusses the following subjects: The Quantum Postulate and atomic theory; modern mathematics in formulation of basic laws of physics; uncertainty principles, Quantum systems; Niels Bohr's concept of reality; Quantum theory; language and reality in Quantum physics; Wolfgang Pauli's conception of reality; interpretation of Quantum mechanics; varieties of realism; and many-Hilbert-spaces theory of Quantum measurements

  5. Quantum-like Modeling of Cognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khrennikov, Andrei

    2015-09-01

    This paper begins with a historical review of the mutual influence of physics and psychology, from Freud's invention of psychic energy inspired by von Boltzmann' thermodynamics to the enrichment quantum physics gained from the side of psychology by the notion of complementarity (the invention of Niels Bohr who was inspired by William James), besides we consider the resonance of the correspondence between Wolfgang Pauli and Carl Jung in both physics and psychology. Then we turn to the problem of development of mathematical models for laws of thought starting with Boolean logic and progressing towards foundations of classical probability theory. Interestingly, the laws of classical logic and probability are routinely violated not only by quantum statistical phenomena but by cognitive phenomena as well. This is yet another common feature between quantum physics and psychology. In particular, cognitive data can exhibit a kind of the probabilistic interference effect. This similarity with quantum physics convinced a multi-disciplinary group of scientists (physicists, psychologists, economists, sociologists) to apply the mathematical apparatus of quantum mechanics to modeling of cognition. We illustrate this activity by considering a few concrete phenomena: the order and disjunction effects, recognition of ambiguous figures, categorization-decision making. In Appendix 1 we briefly present essentials of theory of contextual probability and a method of representations of contextual probabilities by complex probability amplitudes (solution of the ``inverse Born's problem'') based on a quantum-like representation algorithm (QLRA).

  6. Quantum-like Modeling of Cognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrei eKhrennikov

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper begins with a historical review of the mutual influence of physics and psychology, from Freud's invention of psychic energy inspired by von Boltzmann' thermodynamics to the enrichment quantum physics gained from the side of psychology by the notion of complementarity (the invention of Niels Bohr who was inspired by William James, besides we consider the resonance of the correspondence between Wolfgang Pauli and Carl Jung in both physics and psychology. Then we turn to the problem of development of mathematical models for laws of thought starting with Boolean logic and progressing towards foundations of classical probability theory. Interestingly, the laws of classical logic and probability are routinely violated not only by quantum statistical phenomena but by cognitive phenomena as well. This is yet another common feature between quantum physics and psychology.In particular, cognitive data can exhibit a kind of the probabilistic interference effect. This similarity with quantum physics convinced a multi-disciplinary group of scientists (physicists, psychologists, economists, sociologists to apply the mathematical apparatus of quantum mechanics to modeling of cognition. We illustrate this activity by considering a few concrete phenomena: the order and disjunction effects, recognition of ambiguous figures, categorization-decision making.In Appendix 1 we briefly present essentials of theory of contextual probability and a method of representations of contextual probabilities by complex probability amplitudes(solution of the ``inverse Born's problem'' based on a quantum-like representation algorithm (QLRA.

  7. Wilson lines in quantum field theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cherednikov, Igor Olegovich [Antwerpen Univ., Antwerp (Belgium). Fysica Dept.; Joint Institute of Nuclear Research, Moscow (Russian Federation). Bogoliubov Lab. of Theoretical Physics; Mertens, Tom; Veken, Frederik F. van der [Antwerpen Univ., Antwerp (Belgium). Fysica Dept.

    2014-07-01

    Wilson lines (also known as gauge links or eikonal lines) can be introduced in any gauge field theory. Although the concept of the Wilson exponentials finds an enormously wide range of applications in a variety of branches of modern quantum field theory, from condensed matter and lattice simulations to quantum chromodynamics, high-energy effective theories and gravity, there are surprisingly few books or textbooks on the market which contain comprehensive pedagogical introduction and consecutive exposition of the subject. The objective of this book is to get the potential reader acquainted with theoretical and mathematical foundations of the concept of the Wilson loops in the context of modern quantum field theory, to teach him/her to perform independently some elementary calculations with Wilson lines, and to familiarize him/her with the recent development of the subject in different important areas of research. The target audience of the book consists of graduate and postgraduate students working in various areas of quantum field theory, as well as researchers from other fields.

  8. Wilson lines in quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cherednikov, Igor Olegovich; Joint Institute of Nuclear Research, Moscow; Mertens, Tom; Veken, Frederik F. van der

    2014-01-01

    Wilson lines (also known as gauge links or eikonal lines) can be introduced in any gauge field theory. Although the concept of the Wilson exponentials finds an enormously wide range of applications in a variety of branches of modern quantum field theory, from condensed matter and lattice simulations to quantum chromodynamics, high-energy effective theories and gravity, there are surprisingly few books or textbooks on the market which contain comprehensive pedagogical introduction and consecutive exposition of the subject. The objective of this book is to get the potential reader acquainted with theoretical and mathematical foundations of the concept of the Wilson loops in the context of modern quantum field theory, to teach him/her to perform independently some elementary calculations with Wilson lines, and to familiarize him/her with the recent development of the subject in different important areas of research. The target audience of the book consists of graduate and postgraduate students working in various areas of quantum field theory, as well as researchers from other fields.

  9. An Introduction to Quantum Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greensite, Jeff

    2017-02-01

    Written in a lucid and engaging style, the author takes readers from an overview of classical mechanics and the historical development of quantum theory through to advanced topics. The mathematical aspects of quantum theory necessary for a firm grasp of the subject are developed in the early chapters, but an effort is made to motivate that formalism on physical grounds. Including animated figures and their respective Mathematica® codes, this book provides a complete and comprehensive text for students in physics, maths, chemistry and engineering needing an accessible introduction to quantum mechanics. Supplementary Mathematica codes available within Book Information

  10. The future (and past) of quantum theory after the Higgs boson: a quantum-informational viewpoint.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plotnitsky, Arkady

    2016-05-28

    Taking as its point of departure the discovery of the Higgs boson, this article considers quantum theory, including quantum field theory, which predicted the Higgs boson, through the combined perspective of quantum information theory and the idea of technology, while also adopting anon-realistinterpretation, in 'the spirit of Copenhagen', of quantum theory and quantum phenomena themselves. The article argues that the 'events' in question in fundamental physics, such as the discovery of the Higgs boson (a particularly complex and dramatic, but not essentially different, case), are made possible by the joint workings of three technologies: experimental technology, mathematical technology and, more recently, digital computer technology. The article will consider the role of and the relationships among these technologies, focusing on experimental and mathematical technologies, in quantum mechanics (QM), quantum field theory (QFT) and finite-dimensional quantum theory, with which quantum information theory has been primarily concerned thus far. It will do so, in part, by reassessing the history of quantum theory, beginning with Heisenberg's discovery of QM, in quantum-informational and technological terms. This history, the article argues, is defined by the discoveries of increasingly complex configurations of observed phenomena and the emergence of the increasingly complex mathematical formalism accounting for these phenomena, culminating in the standard model of elementary-particle physics, defining the current state of QFT. © 2016 The Author(s).

  11. Tales from the prehistory of Quantum Gravity. Léon Rosenfeld's earliest contributions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peruzzi, Giulio; Rocci, Alessio

    2018-05-01

    The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the earliest work of Léon Rosenfeld, one of the pioneers in the search of Quantum Gravity, the supposed theory unifying quantum theory and general relativity. We describe how and why Rosenfeld tried to face this problem in 1927, analysing the role of his mentors: Oskar Klein, Louis de Broglie and Théophile De Donder. Rosenfeld asked himself how quantum mechanics should concretely modify general relativity. In the context of a five-dimensional theory, Rosenfeld tried to construct a unifying framework for the gravitational and electromagnetic interaction and wave mechanics. Using a sort of "general relativistic quantum mechanics" Rosenfeld introduced a wave equation on a curved background. He investigated the metric created by what he called `quantum phenomena', represented by wave functions. Rosenfeld integrated Einstein equations in the weak field limit, with wave functions as source of the gravitational field. The author performed a sort of semi-classical approximation obtaining at the first order the Reissner-Nordström metric. We analyse how Rosenfeld's work is part of the history of Quantum Mechanics, because in his investigation Rosenfeld was guided by Bohr's correspondence principle. Finally we briefly discuss how his contribution is connected with the task of finding out which metric can be generated by a quantum field, a problem that quantum field theory on curved backgrounds will start to address 35 years later.

  12. Tales from the prehistory of Quantum Gravity - Léon Rosenfeld's earliest contributions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peruzzi, Giulio; Rocci, Alessio

    2018-04-01

    The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the earliest work of Léon Rosenfeld, one of the pioneers in the search of Quantum Gravity, the supposed theory unifying quantum theory and general relativity. We describe how and why Rosenfeld tried to face this problem in 1927, analysing the role of his mentors: Oskar Klein, Louis de Broglie and Théophile De Donder. Rosenfeld asked himself how quantum mechanics should concretely modify general relativity. In the context of a five-dimensional theory, Rosenfeld tried to construct a unifying framework for the gravitational and electromagnetic interaction and wave mechanics. Using a sort of "general relativistic quantum mechanics" Rosenfeld introduced a wave equation on a curved background. He investigated the metric created by what he called `quantum phenomena', represented by wave functions. Rosenfeld integrated Einstein equations in the weak field limit, with wave functions as source of the gravitational field. The author performed a sort of semi-classical approximation obtaining at the first order the Reissner-Nordström metric. We analyse how Rosenfeld's work is part of the history of Quantum Mechanics, because in his investigation Rosenfeld was guided by Bohr's correspondence principle. Finally we briefly discuss how his contribution is connected with the task of finding out which metric can be generated by a quantum field, a problem that quantum field theory on curved backgrounds will start to address 35 years later.

  13. Chaos and the quantum: how nonlinear effects can explain certain quantum paradoxes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McHarris, Wm C, E-mail: mcharris@chemistry.msu.edu [Departments of Chemistry and Physics/Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 (United States)

    2011-07-08

    In recent years we have suggested that many of the so-called paradoxes resulting from the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics could well have more logical parallels based in nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory. Perhaps quantum mechanics might not be strictly linear as has been commonly postulated, and indeed, during the past year experimentalists have discovered signatures of chaos in a definitely quantum system. As an illustration of what can go wrong when quantum effects are forced into a linear interpretation, I examine Bell-type inequalities. In conventional derivations of such inequalities, classical systems are found to impose upper limits on the statistical correlations between, say, the properties of a pair of separated but entangled particles, whereas quantum systems allow greater correlations. Numerous experiments have upheld the quantum predictions (greater statistical correlations than allowed classically), which has led to inferences such as the instantaneous transmission of information between effectively infinitely separated particles - Einstein's 'spooky action-at-a-distance', incompatible with relativity. I argue that there is nothing wrong with the quantum mechanical side of such derivations (the usual point of attack by those attempting to debunk Bell-type arguments), but implicit in the derivations on the classical side is the assumption of independent, uncorrelated particles. As a result, one is comparing uncorrelated probabilities versus conditional probabilities rather than comparing classical versus quantum mechanics, making moot the experimental inferences. Further, nonlinear classical systems are known to exhibit correlations that can easily be as great as and overlap with quantum correlations - so-called nonextensive thermodynamics with its nonadditive entropy has verified this with numerous examples. Perhaps quantum mechanics does contain fundamental nonlinear elements. Nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory could

  14. Chaos and the quantum: how nonlinear effects can explain certain quantum paradoxes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McHarris, Wm C

    2011-01-01

    In recent years we have suggested that many of the so-called paradoxes resulting from the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics could well have more logical parallels based in nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory. Perhaps quantum mechanics might not be strictly linear as has been commonly postulated, and indeed, during the past year experimentalists have discovered signatures of chaos in a definitely quantum system. As an illustration of what can go wrong when quantum effects are forced into a linear interpretation, I examine Bell-type inequalities. In conventional derivations of such inequalities, classical systems are found to impose upper limits on the statistical correlations between, say, the properties of a pair of separated but entangled particles, whereas quantum systems allow greater correlations. Numerous experiments have upheld the quantum predictions (greater statistical correlations than allowed classically), which has led to inferences such as the instantaneous transmission of information between effectively infinitely separated particles - Einstein's 'spooky action-at-a-distance', incompatible with relativity. I argue that there is nothing wrong with the quantum mechanical side of such derivations (the usual point of attack by those attempting to debunk Bell-type arguments), but implicit in the derivations on the classical side is the assumption of independent, uncorrelated particles. As a result, one is comparing uncorrelated probabilities versus conditional probabilities rather than comparing classical versus quantum mechanics, making moot the experimental inferences. Further, nonlinear classical systems are known to exhibit correlations that can easily be as great as and overlap with quantum correlations - so-called nonextensive thermodynamics with its nonadditive entropy has verified this with numerous examples. Perhaps quantum mechanics does contain fundamental nonlinear elements. Nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory could well provide a

  15. Nuclear Quantum Gravitation - The Correct Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotas, Ronald

    2016-03-01

    Nuclear Quantum Gravitation provides a clear, definitive Scientific explanation of Gravity and Gravitation. It is harmonious with Newtonian and Quantum Mechanics, and with distinct Scientific Logic. Nuclear Quantum Gravitation has 10 certain, Scientific proofs and 21 more good indications. With this theory the Physical Forces are obviously Unified. See: OBSCURANTISM ON EINSTEIN GRAVITATION? http://www.santilli- Foundation.org/inconsistencies-gravitation.php and Einstein's Theory of Relativity versus Classical Mechanics http://www.newtonphysics.on.ca/einstein/

  16. On the relation of the theoretical foundations of quantum theory and general relativity theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kober, Martin

    2010-01-01

    The specific content of the present thesis is presented in the following way. First the most important contents of quantum theory and general relativity theory are presented. In connection with the general relativity theory the mathematical property of the diffeomorphism invariance plays the deciding role, while concerning the quantum theory starting from the Copenhagen interpretation first the measurement problem is treated, before basing on the analysis of concrete phenomena and the mathematical apparatus of quantum theory the nonlocality is brought into focus as an important property. This means that both theories suggest a relationalistic view of the nature of the space. This analysis of the theoretical foundations of quantum theory and general relativity theory in relation to the nature of the space obtains only under inclusion of Kant's philosophy and his analysis of the terms space and time as fundamental forms of perception its full persuasive power. Then von Weizsaeckers quantum theory of the ur-alternatives is presented. Finally attempts are made to apply the obtained knowledge to the question of the quantum-theoretical formulation of general relativity theory.

  17. Fulltext PDF

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Catholic church, his godfather being the physicist - philosopher Ernst Mach. ... in 1918. He then joined Arnold Sommerfeld as a student in Munich, and ... and its orthodox or Copenhagen interpretation created by Bohr, Heisenberg and Pauli.

  18. The informationally-complete quantum theory

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Zeng-Bing

    2014-01-01

    Quantum mechanics is a cornerstone of our current understanding of nature and extremely successful in describing physics covering a huge range of scales. However, its interpretation remains controversial since the early days of quantum mechanics. What does a quantum state really mean? Is there any way out of the so-called quantum measurement problem? Here we present an informationally-complete quantum theory (ICQT) and the trinary property of nature to beat the above problems. We assume that ...

  19. Quantum Information Theory - an Invitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Werner, Reinhard F.

    Quantum information and quantum computers have received a lot of public attention recently. Quantum computers have been advertised as a kind of warp drive for computing, and indeed the promise of the algorithms of Shor and Grover is to perform computations which are extremely hard or even provably impossible on any merely ``classical'' computer.In this article I shall give an account of the basic concepts of quantum information theory is given, staying as much as possible in the area of general agreement.The article is divided into two parts. The first (up to the end of Sect. 2.5) is mostly in plain English, centered around the exploration of what can or cannot be done with quantum systems as information carriers. The second part, Sect. 2.6, then gives a description of the mathematical structures and of some of the tools needed to develop the theory.

  20. Quantum theory as an emergent phenomenon the statistical mechanics of matrix models as the precursor of quantum field theory

    CERN Document Server

    Adler, Stephen L

    2004-01-01

    Quantum mechanics is our most successful physical theory. However, it raises conceptual issues that have perplexed physicists and philosophers of science for decades. This 2004 book develops an approach, based on the proposal that quantum theory is not a complete, final theory, but is in fact an emergent phenomenon arising from a deeper level of dynamics. The dynamics at this deeper level are taken to be an extension of classical dynamics to non-commuting matrix variables, with cyclic permutation inside a trace used as the basic calculational tool. With plausible assumptions, quantum theory is shown to emerge as the statistical thermodynamics of this underlying theory, with the canonical commutation/anticommutation relations derived from a generalized equipartition theorem. Brownian motion corrections to this thermodynamics are argued to lead to state vector reduction and to the probabilistic interpretation of quantum theory, making contact with phenomenological proposals for stochastic modifications to Schr�...

  1. On the embedding of quantum field theory on curved spacetimes into loop quantum gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stottmeister, Alexander

    2015-01-01

    The main theme of this thesis is an investigation into possible connections between loop quantum gravity and quantum field theory on curved spacetimes: On the one hand, we aim for the formulation of a general framework that allows for a derivation of quantum field theory on curved spacetimes in a semi-classical limit. On the other hand, we discuss representation-theoretical aspects of loop quantum gravity and quantum field theory on curved spacetimes as both of the latter presumably influence each other in the aforesaid semi-classical limit. Regarding the first point, we investigate the possible implementation of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation in the sense of space-adiabatic perturbation theory in models of loop quantum gravity-type. In the course of this, we argue for the need of a Weyl quantisation and an associated symbolic calculus for loop quantum gravity, which we then successfully define, at least to a certain extent. The compactness of the Lie groups, which models a la loop quantum gravity are based on, turns out to be a main obstacle to a fully satisfactory definition of a Weyl quantisation. Finally, we apply our findings to some toy models of linear scalar quantum fields on quantum cosmological spacetimes and discuss the implementation of space-adiabatic perturbation theory therein. In view of the second point, we start with a discussion of the microlocal spectrum condition for quantum fields on curved spacetimes and how it might be translated to a background-independent Hamiltonian quantum theory of gravity, like loop quantum gravity. The relevance of this lies in the fact that the microlocal spectrum condition selects a class of physically relevant states of the quantum matter fields and is, therefore, expected to play an important role in the aforesaid semi-classical limit of gravity-matter systems. Following this, we switch our perspective and analyse the representation theory of loop quantum gravity. We find some intriguing relations between the

  2. Digestible quantum field theory

    CERN Document Server

    Smilga, Andrei

    2017-01-01

    This book gives an intermediate level treatment of quantum field theory, appropriate to a reader with a first degree in physics and a working knowledge of special relativity and quantum mechanics. It aims to give the reader some understanding of what QFT is all about, without delving deep into actual calculations of Feynman diagrams or similar. The author serves up a seven‐course menu, which begins with a brief introductory Aperitif. This is followed by the Hors d'oeuvres, which set the scene with a broad survey of the Universe, its theoretical description, and how the ideas of QFT developed during the last century. In the next course, the Art of Cooking, the author recaps on some basic facts of analytical mechanics, relativity, quantum mechanics and also presents some nutritious “extras” in mathematics (group theory at the elementary level) and in physics (theory of scattering). After these preparations, the reader should have a good appetite for the Entrées ‐ the central par t of the book where the...

  3. Spectral methods in quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Graham, Noah; Quandt, Markus; Weigel, Herbert

    2009-01-01

    This concise text introduces techniques from quantum mechanics, especially scattering theory, to compute the effects of an external background on a quantum field in general, and on the properties of the quantum vacuum in particular. This approach can be succesfully used in an increasingly large number of situations, ranging from the study of solitons in field theory and cosmology to the determination of Casimir forces in nano-technology. The method introduced and applied in this book is shown to give an unambiguous connection to perturbation theory, implementing standard renormalization conditions even for non-perturbative backgrounds. It both gives new theoretical insights, for example illuminating longstanding questions regarding Casimir stresses, and also provides an efficient analytic and numerical tool well suited to practical calculations. Last but not least, it elucidates in a concrete context many of the subtleties of quantum field theory, such as divergences, regularization and renormalization, by connecting them to more familiar results in quantum mechanics. While addressed primarily at young researchers entering the field and nonspecialist researchers with backgrounds in theoretical and mathematical physics, introductory chapters on the theoretical aspects of the method make the book self-contained and thus suitable for advanced graduate students. (orig.)

  4. Topics in quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuille, A.L.

    1980-11-01

    Topics in the Yang-Mills theories of strong interactions and the quantum theories of gravity are examined, using the path integral approach, including; Yang-Mills instantons in curved spacetimes, Israel-Wilson metrics, Kaehler spacetimes, instantons and anti-instantons. (U.K.)

  5. Quantum field theory for the gifted amateur

    CERN Document Server

    Lancaster, Tom

    2014-01-01

    Quantum field theory is arguably the most far-reaching and beautiful physical theory ever constructed, with aspects more stringently tested and verified to greater precision than any other theory in physics. Unfortunately, the subject has gained a notorious reputation for difficulty, with forbidding looking mathematics and a peculiar diagrammatic language described in an array of unforgiving, weighty textbooks aimed firmly at aspiring professionals. However, quantum field theory is too important, too beautiful, and too engaging to be restricted to the professionals. This book on quantum field theory is designed to be different. It is written by experimental physicists and aims to provide the interested amateur with a bridge from undergraduate physics to quantum field theory. The imagined reader is a gifted amateur, possessing a curious and adaptable mind, looking to be told an entertaining and intellectually stimulating story, but who will not feel patronised if a few mathematical niceties are spelled out in ...

  6. Probabilistic and Statistical Aspects of Quantum Theory

    CERN Document Server

    Holevo, Alexander S

    2011-01-01

    This book is devoted to aspects of the foundations of quantum mechanics in which probabilistic and statistical concepts play an essential role. The main part of the book concerns the quantitative statistical theory of quantum measurement, based on the notion of positive operator-valued measures. During the past years there has been substantial progress in this direction, stimulated to a great extent by new applications such as Quantum Optics, Quantum Communication and high-precision experiments. The questions of statistical interpretation, quantum symmetries, theory of canonical commutation re

  7. Introduction to classical and quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ng, Tai-Kai

    2009-01-01

    This is the first introductory textbook on quantum field theory to be written from the point of view of condensed matter physics. As such, it presents the basic concepts and techniques of statistical field theory, clearly explaining how and why they are integrated into modern quantum (and classical) field theory, and includes the latest developments. Written by an expert in the field, with a broad experience in teaching and training, it manages to present such substantial topics as phases and phase transitions or solitons and instantons in an accessible and concise way. Divided into three parts, the first part covers fundamental physics and the mathematics background needed by students in order to enter the field, while the second part introduces more advanced concepts and techniques. Part III discusses applications of quantum field theory to a few basic problems. The emphasis here lies on how modern concepts of quantum field theory are embedded in these approaches, and also on the limitations of standard quantum field theory techniques in facing, 'real' physics problems. Throughout there are numerous end-of-chapter problems, and a free solutions manual is available for lecturers. (orig.)

  8. Algebraic quantum field theory, perturbation theory, and the loop expansion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duetsch, M.; Fredenhagen, K.

    2001-01-01

    The perturbative treatment of quantum field theory is formulated within the framework of algebraic quantum field theory. We show that the algebra of interacting fields is additive, i.e. fully determined by its subalgebras associated to arbitrary small subregions of Minkowski space. We also give an algebraic formulation of the loop expansion by introducing a projective system A (n) of observables ''up to n loops'', where A (0) is the Poisson algebra of the classical field theory. Finally we give a local algebraic formulation for two cases of the quantum action principle and compare it with the usual formulation in terms of Green's functions. (orig.)

  9. Consistent histories and operational quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rudolph, O.

    1996-01-01

    In this work a generalization of the consistent histories approach to quantum mechanics is presented. We first critically review the consistent histories approach to nonrelativistic quantum mechanics in a mathematically rigorous way and give some general comments about it. We investigate to what extent the consistent histories scheme is compatible with the results of the operational formulation of quantum mechanics. According to the operational approach, nonrelativistic quantum mechanics is most generally formulated in terms of effects, states, and operations. We formulate a generalized consistent histories theory using the concepts and the terminology which have proven useful in the operational formulation of quantum mechanics. The logical rule of the logical interpretation of quantum mechanics is generalized to the present context. The algebraic structure of the generalized theory is studied in detail

  10. Einstein and interpretation of quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kashlyun, F.

    1982-01-01

    The main problems of the quantum theory, the basis of which was laid by Planck in 1900 as a result of the discovery of elementary quantum of action, are examined. The most important Einstein contributions to the quantum theory are enumerated. The Einstein work about the light quanta, proved wave-particle dualism, stated one of the most complicated problems to the physics. The work on the specific heat capacity of solids shows that the quantum theory should be beyond the limits of the narrow range of the problems on black radiation. The works on the equilibrium of radiation have convincingly demonstrates statistical character of the radiation processes and have marked the way to Heizenberg form of the quantum mechanics. Einstein generalized the idea of wave-particle dualism to the ordinary gas. It helped to prepare the Schroedinger form of quantum mechanics

  11. Representation Theory of Algebraic Groups and Quantum Groups

    CERN Document Server

    Gyoja, A; Shinoda, K-I; Shoji, T; Tanisaki, Toshiyuki

    2010-01-01

    Invited articles by top notch expertsFocus is on topics in representation theory of algebraic groups and quantum groupsOf interest to graduate students and researchers in representation theory, group theory, algebraic geometry, quantum theory and math physics

  12. On single-time reduction in quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arkhipov, A.A.

    1984-01-01

    It is shown, how the causality and spectrality properties in qUantum field theory may help one to carry out a single-time reduction of the Bethe-Salpeter wave fUnction. The single-time reduction technique is not based on any concrete model of the quantum field theory. Axiomatic formulations underline the quantum field theory

  13. Quantum field theory

    CERN Document Server

    Sadovskii, Michael V

    2013-01-01

    This book discusses the main concepts of the Standard Model of elementary particles in a compact and straightforward way. The work illustrates the unity of modern theoretical physics by combining approaches and concepts of the quantum field theory and modern condensed matter theory. The inductive approach allows a deep understanding of ideas and methods used for solving problems in this field.

  14. Stochastic theories of quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De la Pena, L.; Cetto, A.M.

    1991-01-01

    The material of this article is organized into five sections. In Sect. I the basic characteristics of quantum systems are briefly discussed, with emphasis on their stochastic properties. In Sect. II a version of stochastic quantum mechanics is presented, to conclude that the quantum formalism admits an interpretation in terms of stochastic processes. In Sect. III the elements of stochastic electrodynamics are described, and its possibilities and limitations as a fundamental theory of quantum systems are discussed. Section IV contains a recent reformulation that overcomes the limitations of the theory discussed in the foregoing section. Finally, in Sect. V the theorems of EPR, Von Neumann and Bell are discussed briefly. The material is pedagogically presented and includes an ample list of references, but the details of the derivations are generally omitted. (Author)

  15. Some remarks on general covariance of quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmutzer, E.

    1977-01-01

    If one accepts Einstein's general principle of relativity (covariance principle) also for the sphere of microphysics (quantum, mechanics, quantum field theory, theory of elemtary particles), one has to ask how far the fundamental laws of traditional quantum physics fulfil this principle. Attention is here drawn to a series of papers that have appeared during the last years, in which the author criticized the usual scheme of quantum theory (Heisenberg picture, Schroedinger picture etc.) and presented a new foundation of the basic laws of quantum physics, obeying the 'principle of fundamental covariance' (Einstein's covariance principle in space-time and covariance principle in Hilbert space of quantum operators and states). (author)

  16. Quantum control theory and applications: A survey

    OpenAIRE

    Dong, Daoyi; Petersen, Ian R

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents a survey on quantum control theory and applications from a control systems perspective. Some of the basic concepts and main developments (including open-loop control and closed-loop control) in quantum control theory are reviewed. In the area of open-loop quantum control, the paper surveys the notion of controllability for quantum systems and presents several control design strategies including optimal control, Lyapunov-based methodologies, variable structure control and q...

  17. Thermodynamics and the structure of quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krumm, Marius; Müller, Markus P; Barnum, Howard; Barrett, Jonathan

    2017-01-01

    Despite its enormous empirical success, the formalism of quantum theory still raises fundamental questions: why is nature described in terms of complex Hilbert spaces, and what modifications of it could we reasonably expect to find in some regimes of physics? Here we address these questions by studying how compatibility with thermodynamics constrains the structure of quantum theory. We employ two postulates that any probabilistic theory with reasonable thermodynamic behaviour should arguably satisfy. In the framework of generalised probabilistic theories, we show that these postulates already imply important aspects of quantum theory, like self-duality and analogues of projective measurements, subspaces and eigenvalues. However, they may still admit a class of theories beyond quantum mechanics. Using a thought experiment by von Neumann, we show that these theories admit a consistent thermodynamic notion of entropy, and prove that the second law holds for projective measurements and mixing procedures. Furthermore, we study additional entropy-like quantities based on measurement probabilities and convex decomposition probabilities, and uncover a relation between one of these quantities and Sorkin’s notion of higher-order interference. (paper)

  18. The quantum cookbook

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gribbin, John.

    1985-01-01

    The paper traces the development of quantum physics, from the early past of this century to modern applications including solid-state devices. The early quantum studies on the model of the atom, carried out by Niels Bohr, are described, as well as the work by Heisenberg and colleagues on matrix mechanics. De Broglie wavelength; particles and waves; uncertainty principles; lasers; and semiconductor systems; are all briefly discussed. (U.K.)

  19. The conceptual framework of quantum field theory

    CERN Document Server

    Duncan, Anthony

    2012-01-01

    The book attempts to provide an introduction to quantum field theory emphasizing conceptual issues frequently neglected in more "utilitarian" treatments of the subject. The book is divided into four parts, entitled respectively "Origins", "Dynamics", "Symmetries", and "Scales". The emphasis is conceptual - the aim is to build the theory up systematically from some clearly stated foundational concepts - and therefore to a large extent anti-historical, but two historical Chapters ("Origins") are included to situate quantum field theory in the larger context of modern physical theories. The three remaining sections of the book follow a step by step reconstruction of this framework beginning with just a few basic assumptions: relativistic invariance, the basic principles of quantum mechanics, and the prohibition of physical action at a distance embodied in the clustering principle. The "Dynamics" section of the book lays out the basic structure of quantum field theory arising from the sequential insertion of quan...

  20. De novo nonsense mutations in ASXL1 cause Bohring-Opitz syndrome

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoischen, Alexander; van Bon, Bregje W. M.; Rodríguez-Santiago, Benjamín; Gilissen, Christian; Vissers, Lisenka E. L. M.; de Vries, Petra; Janssen, Irene; van Lier, Bart; Hastings, Rob; Smithson, Sarah F.; Newbury-Ecob, Ruth; Kjaergaard, Susanne; Goodship, Judith; McGowan, Ruth; Bartholdi, Deborah; Rauch, Anita; Peippo, Maarit; Cobben, Jan M.; Wieczorek, Dagmar; Gillessen-Kaesbach, Gabriele; Veltman, Joris A.; Brunner, Han G.; de Vries, Bert B. B. A.

    2011-01-01

    Bohring-Opitz syndrome is characterized by severe intellectual disability, distinctive facial features and multiple congenital malformations. We sequenced the exomes of three individuals with Bohring-Opitz syndrome and in each identified heterozygous de novo nonsense mutations in ASXL1, which is

  1. 17th Poincaré Seminar 2013

    CERN Document Server

    Duplantier, Bertrand; Raimond, Jean-Michel; Rivasseau, Vincent

    2016-01-01

    This fourteenth volume in the Poincaré Seminar Series is devoted to Niels Bohr, his foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum theory and their continuing importance today. This book contains the following chapters: - Tomas Bohr, Keeping Things Open; - Olivier Darrigol, Bohr's Trilogy of 1913; -John Heilbron, The Mind that Created the Bohr Atom; - Serge Haroche & Jean-Michel Raimond, Bohr's Legacy in Cavity QED; - Alain Aspect, From Einstein, Bohr, Schrödinger to Bell and Feynman: a New Quantum Revolution?; - Antoine Browaeys, Interacting Cold Rydberg Atoms: A Toy Many-Body System; - Michel Bitbol & Stefano Osnaghi, Bohr´s Complementarity and Kant´s Epistemology. Dating from their origin in lectures to a broad scientific audience these seven chapters are of high educational value. This volume is of general interest to physicists, mathematicians and historians.

  2. Dirac's equation and the nature of quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plotnitsky, Arkady

    2012-01-01

    This paper re-examines the key aspects of Dirac's derivation of his relativistic equation for the electron in order advance our understanding of the nature of quantum field theory. Dirac's derivation, the paper argues, follows the key principles behind Heisenberg's discovery of quantum mechanics, which, the paper also argues, transformed the nature of both theoretical and experimental physics vis-à-vis classical physics and relativity. However, the limit theory (a crucial consideration for both Dirac and Heisenberg) in the case of Dirac's theory was quantum mechanics, specifically, Schrödinger's equation, while in the case of quantum mechanics, in Heisenberg's version, the limit theory was classical mechanics. Dirac had to find a new equation, Dirac's equation, along with a new type of quantum variables, while Heisenberg, to find new theory, was able to use the equations of classical physics, applied to different, quantum-mechanical variables. In this respect, Dirac's task was more similar to that of Schrödinger in his work on his version of quantum mechanics. Dirac's equation reflects a more complex character of quantum electrodynamics or quantum field theory in general and of the corresponding (high-energy) experimental quantum physics vis-à-vis that of quantum mechanics and the (low-energy) experimental quantum physics. The final section examines this greater complexity and its implications for fundamental physics.

  3. Quantum information theory mathematical foundation

    CERN Document Server

    Hayashi, Masahito

    2017-01-01

    This graduate textbook provides a unified view of quantum information theory. Clearly explaining the necessary mathematical basis, it merges key topics from both information-theoretic and quantum- mechanical viewpoints and provides lucid explanations of the basic results. Thanks to this unified approach, it makes accessible such advanced topics in quantum communication as quantum teleportation, superdense coding, quantum state transmission (quantum error-correction) and quantum encryption. Since the publication of the preceding book Quantum Information: An Introduction, there have been tremendous strides in the field of quantum information. In particular, the following topics – all of which are addressed here – made seen major advances: quantum state discrimination, quantum channel capacity, bipartite and multipartite entanglement, security analysis on quantum communication, reverse Shannon theorem and uncertainty relation. With regard to the analysis of quantum security, the present book employs an impro...

  4. Hilbertian quantum theory as the theory of complementarity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lahti, P.J.

    1983-01-01

    It is demonstrated that the notion of complementary physical quantities assumes the possibility of performing ideal first-kind measurements of such quantities. This then leads to an axiomatic reconstruction of the Hilbertian quantum theory based on the complementarity principle and on its connection with the measurement theoretical idealization known as the projection postulate. As the notion of complementary physical quantities does not presuppose the notion of probability, the given axiomatic reconstruction reveals complementarity as an essential reason for the irreducibly probabilistic nature of the quantum theory. (author)

  5. Quantum aspects of black objects in string theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hyakutake, Yoshifumi [College of Science, Ibaraki University,Bunkyo 2-1-1, Mito, Ibaraki 310-8512 (Japan)

    2017-01-17

    One of important directions in superstring theory is to reveal the quantum nature of black hole. In this paper we embed Schwarzschild black hole into superstring theory or M-theory, which we call a smeared black hole, and resolve quantum corrections to it. Furthermore we boost the smeared black hole along the 11th direction and construct a smeared quantum black 0-brane in 10 dimensions. Quantum aspects of the thermodynamic for these black objects are investigated in detail. We also discuss radiations of a string and a D0-brane from the smeared quantum black 0-brane.

  6. Theories of Matter, Space and Time, Volume 2; Quantum theories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, N.; King, S. F.

    2018-06-01

    This book and its prequel Theories of Matter Space and Time: Classical Theories grew out of courses that we have both taught as part of the undergraduate degree program in Physics at Southampton University, UK. Our goal was to guide the full MPhys undergraduate cohort through some of the trickier areas of theoretical physics that we expect our undergraduates to master. Here we teach the student to understand first quantized relativistic quantum theories. We first quickly review the basics of quantum mechanics which should be familiar to the reader from a prior course. Then we will link the Schrödinger equation to the principle of least action introducing Feynman's path integral methods. Next, we present the relativistic wave equations of Klein, Gordon and Dirac. Finally, we convert Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism to a wave equation for photons and make contact with quantum electrodynamics (QED) at a first quantized level. Between the two volumes we hope to move a student's understanding from their prior courses to a place where they are ready, beyond, to embark on graduate level courses on quantum field theory.

  7. Ensembles and Experiments in Classical and Quantum Physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neumaier, Arnold

    A philosophically consistent axiomatic approach to classical and quantum mechanics is given. The approach realizes a strong formal implementation of Bohr's correspondence principle. In all instances, classical and quantum concepts are fully parallel: the same general theory has a classical realization and a quantum realization. Extending the ''probability via expectation'' approach of Whittle to noncommuting quantities, this paper defines quantities, ensembles, and experiments as mathematical concepts and shows how to model complementarity, uncertainty, probability, nonlocality and dynamics in these terms. The approach carries no connotation of unlimited repeatability; hence it can be applied to unique systems such as the universe. Consistent experiments provide an elegant solution to the reality problem, confirming the insistence of the orthodox Copenhagen interpretation on that there is nothing but ensembles, while avoiding its elusive reality picture. The weak law of large numbers explains the emergence of classical properties for macroscopic systems.

  8. Quantum: information theory: technological challenge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Calixto, M.

    2001-01-01

    The new Quantum Information Theory augurs powerful machines that obey the entangled logic of the subatomic world. Parallelism, entanglement, teleportation, no-cloning and quantum cryptography are typical peculiarities of this novel way of understanding computation. (Author) 24 refs

  9. A categorical framework for quantum theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Filk, T. [Institute for Physics, University of Freiburg (Germany); Parmenides Center for the Study of Thinking, Muenchen (Germany); Mueller, A. von [Parmenides Center for the Study of Thinking, Muenchen (Germany); Institute for Philosophy, University of Munich (Germany); SISSA, Trieste (Italy)

    2010-11-15

    Underlying any physical theory is a layer of conceptual frames. They connect the mathematical structures used in theoretical models with the phenomena, but they also constitute our fundamental assumptions about reality. Many of the discrepancies between quantum physics and classical physics (including Maxwell's electrodynamics and relativity) can be traced back to these categorical foundations. We argue that classical physics corresponds to the factual aspects of reality and requires a categorical framework which consists of four interdependent components: boolean logic, the linear-sequential notion of time, the principle of sufficient reason, and the dichotomy between observer and observed. None of these can be dropped without affecting the others. However, quantum theory also addresses the ''status nascendi'' of facts, i.e., their coming into being. Therefore, quantum physics requires a different conceptual framework which will be elaborated in this article. It is shown that many of its components are already present in the standard formalisms of quantum physics, but in most cases they are highlighted not so much from a conceptual perspective but more from their mathematical structures. The categorical frame underlying quantum physics includes a profoundly different notion of time which encompasses a crucial role for the present. The article introduces the concept of a categorical apparatus (a framework of interdependent categories), explores the appropriate apparatus for classical and quantum theory, and elaborates in particular on the category of non-sequential time and an extended present which seems to be relevant for a quantum theory of (space)-time. (Abstract Copyright [2010], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

  10. Quantum theory informational foundations and foils

    CERN Document Server

    Spekkens, Robert

    2016-01-01

    This book provides the first unified overview of the burgeoning research area at the interface between Quantum Foundations and Quantum Information.  Topics include: operational alternatives to quantum theory, information-theoretic reconstructions of the quantum formalism, mathematical frameworks for operational theories, and device-independent features of the set of quantum correlations. Powered by the injection of fresh ideas from the field of Quantum Information and Computation, the foundations of Quantum Mechanics are in the midst of a renaissance. The last two decades have seen an explosion of new results and research directions, attracting broad interest in the scientific community. The variety and number of different approaches, however, makes it challenging for a newcomer to obtain a big picture of the field and of its high-level goals. Here, fourteen original contributions from leading experts in the field cover some of the most promising research directions that have emerged in the new wave of quant...

  11. Quantum field theory in a semiotic perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dosch, H.G.

    2005-01-01

    Viewing physical theories as symbolic constructions came to the fore in the middle of the nineteenth century with the emancipation of the classical theory of the electromagnetic field from mechanics; most notably this happened through the work of Helmholtz, Hertz, Poincare, and later Weyl. The epistemological problems that nourished this development are today highlighted within quantum field theory. The present essay starts off with a concise and non-technical outline of the firmly based aspects of relativistic quantum field theory, i.e. the very successful description of subnuclear phenomena. The particular methods, by which these different aspects have to be accessed, then get described as distinct facets of quantum field theory. The authors show how these different facets vary with respect to the relation between quantum fields and associated particles. Thus, by emphasising the respective role of various basic concepts involved, the authors claim that only a very general epistemic approach can properly account for this diversity - an account they trace back to the philosophical writings of the aforementioned physicists and mathematicians. Finally, what they call their semiotic perspective on quantum field theory gets related to recent discussions within the philosophy of science and turns out to act as a counterbalance to, for instance, structural realism. (orig.)

  12. Quantum field theory in a semiotic perspective

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dosch, H.G. [Heidelberg Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Theoretische Physik; Mueller, V.F. [Technische Univ. Kaiserslautern (Germany). Fachbereich Physik; Sieroka, N. [Zurich Univ. (Switzerland)

    2005-07-01

    Viewing physical theories as symbolic constructions came to the fore in the middle of the nineteenth century with the emancipation of the classical theory of the electromagnetic field from mechanics; most notably this happened through the work of Helmholtz, Hertz, Poincare, and later Weyl. The epistemological problems that nourished this development are today highlighted within quantum field theory. The present essay starts off with a concise and non-technical outline of the firmly based aspects of relativistic quantum field theory, i.e. the very successful description of subnuclear phenomena. The particular methods, by which these different aspects have to be accessed, then get described as distinct facets of quantum field theory. The authors show how these different facets vary with respect to the relation between quantum fields and associated particles. Thus, by emphasising the respective role of various basic concepts involved, the authors claim that only a very general epistemic approach can properly account for this diversity - an account they trace back to the philosophical writings of the aforementioned physicists and mathematicians. Finally, what they call their semiotic perspective on quantum field theory gets related to recent discussions within the philosophy of science and turns out to act as a counterbalance to, for instance, structural realism. (orig.)

  13. Quantum Field Theory in a Semiotic Perspective

    CERN Document Server

    Günter Dosch, Hans; Sieroka, Norman

    2005-01-01

    Viewing physical theories as symbolic constructions came to the fore in the middle of the nineteenth century with the emancipation of the classical theory of the electromagnetic field from mechanics; most notably this happened through the work of Helmholtz, Hertz, Poincaré, and later Weyl. The epistemological problems that nourished this development are today highlighted within quantum field theory. The present essay starts off with a concise and non-technical outline of the firmly based aspects of relativistic quantum field theory, i.e. the very successful description of subnuclear phenomena. The particular methods, by which these different aspects have to be accessed, then get described as distinct facets of quantum field theory. The authors show how these different facets vary with respect to the relation between quantum fields and associated particles. Thus, by emphasising the respective role of various basic concepts involved, the authors claim that only a very general epistemic approach can properly ac...

  14. Hierarchical theory of quantum adiabatic evolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Qi; Wu, Biao; Gong, Jiangbin

    2014-01-01

    Quantum adiabatic evolution is a dynamical evolution of a quantum system under slow external driving. According to the quantum adiabatic theorem, no transitions occur between nondegenerate instantaneous energy eigenstates in such a dynamical evolution. However, this is true only when the driving rate is infinitesimally small. For a small nonzero driving rate, there are generally small transition probabilities between the energy eigenstates. We develop a classical mechanics framework to address the small deviations from the quantum adiabatic theorem order by order. A hierarchy of Hamiltonians is constructed iteratively with the zeroth-order Hamiltonian being determined by the original system Hamiltonian. The kth-order deviations are governed by a kth-order Hamiltonian, which depends on the time derivatives of the adiabatic parameters up to the kth-order. Two simple examples, the Landau–Zener model and a spin-1/2 particle in a rotating magnetic field, are used to illustrate our hierarchical theory. Our analysis also exposes a deep, previously unknown connection between classical adiabatic theory and quantum adiabatic theory. (paper)

  15. Hidden variables and locality in quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shiva, Vandana.

    1978-12-01

    The status of hidden variables in quantum theory has been debated since the 1920s. The author examines the no-hidden-variable theories of von Neumann, Kochen, Specker and Bell, and finds that they all share one basic assumption: averaging over the hidden variables should reproduce the quantum mechanical probabilities. Von Neumann also makes a linearity assumption, Kochen and Specker require the preservation of certain functional relations between magnitudes, and Bell proposes a locality condition. It has been assumed that the extrastatistical requirements are needed to serve as criteria of success for the introduction of hidden variables because the statistical condition is trivially satisfied, and that Bell's result is based on a locality condition that is physically motivated. The author shows that the requirement of weak locality, which is not physically motivated, is enough to give Bell's result. The proof of Bell's inequality works equally well for any pair of commuting magnitudes satisfying a condition called the degeneracy principle. None of the no-hidden-variable proofs apply to a class of hidden variable theories that are not phase-space reconstructions of quantum mechanics. The author discusses one of these theories, the Bohm-Bub theory, and finds that hidden variable theories that re all the quantum statistics, for single and sequential measurements, must introduce a randomization process for the hidden variables after each measurement. The philosophical significance of this theory lies in the role it can play in solving the conceptual puzzles posed by quantum theory

  16. CDT-a entropic theory of quantum gravity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ambjørn, Jan; Görlich, A.; Jurkiewicz, J.

    2010-01-01

    High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th); General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc); High Energy Physics - Lattice (hep-lat)......High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th); General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc); High Energy Physics - Lattice (hep-lat)...

  17. Mathematical aspects of quantum field theories

    CERN Document Server

    Strobl, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    Despite its long history and stunning experimental successes, the mathematical foundation of perturbative quantum field theory is still a subject of ongoing research. This book aims at presenting some of the most recent advances in the field, and at reflecting the diversity of approaches and tools invented and currently employed. Both leading experts and comparative newcomers to the field present their latest findings, helping readers to gain a better understanding of not only quantum but also classical field theories. Though the book offers a valuable resource for mathematicians and physicists alike, the focus is more on mathematical developments. This volume consists of four parts: The first Part covers local aspects of perturbative quantum field theory, with an emphasis on the axiomatization of the algebra behind the operator product expansion. The second Part highlights Chern-Simons gauge theories, while the third examines (semi-)classical field theories. In closing, Part 4 addresses factorization homolo...

  18. Nil Bohr-sets and almost automorphy of higher order

    CERN Document Server

    Huang, Wen; Ye, Xiangdong

    2016-01-01

    Two closely related topics, higher order Bohr sets and higher order almost automorphy, are investigated in this paper. Both of them are related to nilsystems. In the first part, the problem which can be viewed as the higher order version of an old question concerning Bohr sets is studied: for any d\\in \\mathbb{N} does the collection of \\{n\\in \\mathbb{Z}: S\\cap (S-n)\\cap\\ldots\\cap (S-dn)\

  19. Quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mancini, F.

    1986-01-01

    Theoretical physicists, coming from different countries, working on different areas, gathered at Positano: the Proceedings contain all the lectures delivered as well as contributed papers. Many areas of physics are represented, elementary particles in high energy physics, quantum relativity, quantum geometry, condensed matter physics, statistical mechanics; but all works are concerned with the use of the methods of quantum field theory. The first motivation of the meeting was to pay homage to a great physicist and a great friend; it was also an occasion in which theoretical physicists got together to discuss and to compare results in different fields. The meeting was very intimate; the relaxed atmosphere allowed constructive discussions and contributed to a positive exchange of ideas. (orig.)

  20. 100 years of Planck's quantum

    CERN Document Server

    Duck, Ian M

    2000-01-01

    This invaluable book takes the reader from Planck's discovery of the quantum in 1900 to the most recent interpretations and applications of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics.The introduction of the quantum idea leads off the prehistory of quantum mechanics, featuring Planck, Einstein, Bohr, Compton, and de Broglie's immortal contributions. Their original discovery papers are featured with explanatory notes and developments in Part 1.The invention of matrix mechanics and quantum mechanics by Heisenberg, Born, Jordan, Dirac, and Schrödinger is presented next, in Part 2.Following that, in Part 3,

  1. Quantum control and representation theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibort, A; Perez-Pardo, J M

    2009-01-01

    A new notion of controllability for quantum systems that takes advantage of the linear superposition of quantum states is introduced. We call such a notion von Neumann controllability, and it is shown that it is strictly weaker than the usual notion of pure state and operator controllability. We provide a simple and effective characterization of it by using tools from the theory of unitary representations of Lie groups. In this sense, we are able to approach the problem of control of quantum states from a new perspective, that of the theory of unitary representations of Lie groups. A few examples of physical interest and the particular instances of compact and nilpotent dynamical Lie groups are discussed

  2. Quantum field theory in a nutshell

    CERN Document Server

    Zee, A

    2010-01-01

    Since it was first published, Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell has quickly established itself as the most accessible and comprehensive introduction to this profound and deeply fascinating area of theoretical physics. Now in this fully revised and expanded edition, A. Zee covers the latest advances while providing a solid conceptual foundation for students to build on, making this the most up-to-date and modern textbook on quantum field theory available. as well as an entirely new section describing recent developments in quantum field theory such as gravitational waves, the helicity spinor formalism, on-shell gluon scattering, recursion relations for amplitudes with complex momenta, and the hidden connection between Yang-Mills theory and Einstein gravity. Zee also provides added exercises, explanations, and examples, as well as detailed appendices, solutions to selected exercises, and suggestions for further reading

  3. Linear response theory for quantum open systems

    OpenAIRE

    Wei, J. H.; Yan, YiJing

    2011-01-01

    Basing on the theory of Feynman's influence functional and its hierarchical equations of motion, we develop a linear response theory for quantum open systems. Our theory provides an effective way to calculate dynamical observables of a quantum open system at its steady-state, which can be applied to various fields of non-equilibrium condensed matter physics.

  4. Exponential complexity and ontological theories of quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montina, A.

    2008-01-01

    Ontological theories of quantum mechanics describe a single system by means of well-defined classical variables and attribute the quantum uncertainties to our ignorance about the underlying reality represented by these variables. We consider the general class of ontological theories describing a quantum system by a set of variables with Markovian (either deterministic or stochastic) evolution. We provide proof that the number of continuous variables cannot be smaller than 2N-2, N being the Hilbert-space dimension. Thus, any ontological Markovian theory of quantum mechanics requires a number of variables which grows exponentially with the physical size. This result is relevant also in the framework of quantum Monte Carlo methods

  5. Quantum field theory in curved space-time

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davies, P C.W. [King' s Coll., London (UK)

    1976-09-30

    It is stated that recent theoretical developments indicate that the presence of gravity (curved space-time) can give rise to important new quantum effects, such as cosmological particle production and black-hole evaporation. These processes suggest intriguing new relations between quantum theory, thermodynamics and space-time structure and encourage the hope that a better understanding of a full quantum theory of gravity may emerge from this approach.

  6. Christian Bohr og De syv små Djaevle: Et laerestykke i 4 akter om iltdiffusionsstriden mellem Christian Bohr og August Krogh

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gjedde, Albert

    2004-01-01

    The author explores novel lessons emerging from the oxygen diffusion controversy between Christian Bohr on one side and August and Marie Krogh on the other. THe controversy found its emphatic expression in August and Marie Krogh's "Seven Little Devils", a series of papers published back-to-back i......The author explores novel lessons emerging from the oxygen diffusion controversy between Christian Bohr on one side and August and Marie Krogh on the other. THe controversy found its emphatic expression in August and Marie Krogh's "Seven Little Devils", a series of papers published back...

  7. String theory as a quantum theory of gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horowitz, G.T.

    1990-01-01

    First, the connection between string theory and gravity is discussed - at first sight the theory of strings seem to have nothing to do with gravity but an intimate connection is shown. Then the quantum perturbation expansion is discussed. Thirdly, string theory is considered as a classical theory of gravity and finally recent speculation about a phase of string theory which is independent of a spacetime metric is discussed. (author)

  8. Substructure boosts to dark matter annihilation from Sommerfeld enhancement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bovy, Jo

    2009-01-01

    The recently introduced Sommerfeld enhancement of the dark matter annihilation cross section has important implications for the detection of dark matter annihilation in subhalos in the Galactic halo. In addition to the boost to the dark matter annihilation cross section from the high densities of these subhalos with respect to the main halo, an additional boost caused by the Sommerfeld enhancement results from the fact that they are kinematically colder than the Galactic halo. If we further believe the generic prediction of the cold dark matter paradigm that in each subhalo there is an abundance of substructure which is approximately self-similar to that of the Galactic halo, then I show that additional boosts coming from the density enhancements of these small substructures and their small velocity dispersions enhance the dark matter annihilation cross section even further. I find that very large boost factors (10 5 to 10 9 ) are obtained in a large class of models. The implications of these boost factors for the detection of dark matter annihilation from dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Galactic halo are such that, generically, they outshine the background gamma-ray flux and are detectable by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.

  9. Einstein's Materialism and Modern Tests of Quantum Mechanics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vigier, J. P.

    After a presentation of Einstein's and Bohr's antagonistic point of view on the interpretation of Quantum Mechanics an illustration of their conflicting positions in the particular case of Young's double slit experiment is presented. It is then shown that in their most recent form (i. e. time dependent neutron interferometry) these experiments suggest (if one accepts absolute energymomentum conservation in all individual microprocesses) that Einstein was right in the Bohr-Einstein controversy.Translated AbstractEinsteins Materialismus und heutige Tests der QuantenmechanikNach einer Darstellung von Einsteins und Bohrs antagonistischen Standpunkten in der Interpretation der Quantenmechanik werden ihre widersprüchlichen Positionen im speziellen Fall des Youngschen Doppelspaltexperiments dargestellt. Es wird dann gezeigt, daß diese Experimente in ihrer neuesten Form (d. h. zeitabhängige Neutroneninterferometrie) Einstein in der Bohr-Einsteinkontroverse recht gaben (wenn man absolute Energie-Impulserhaltung bei allen individuellen Mikroprozessen annimmt).

  10. A Survey of Quantum Learning Theory

    OpenAIRE

    Arunachalam, Srinivasan; de Wolf, Ronald

    2017-01-01

    This paper surveys quantum learning theory: the theoretical aspects of machine learning using quantum computers. We describe the main results known for three models of learning: exact learning from membership queries, and Probably Approximately Correct (PAC) and agnostic learning from classical or quantum examples.

  11.  Topological quantum field theory: 20 years later

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reshetikhin, Nicolai

    2008-01-01

    This article is an overview of the developments in topological quantum field theory, and, in particular on the progress in the Chern–Simons theory.......This article is an overview of the developments in topological quantum field theory, and, in particular on the progress in the Chern–Simons theory....

  12. Quantum paradoxes and physical reality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van der Merwe, Alwyn; Selleri, Franco

    1990-01-01

    This book is devoted to the most fundamental themes of quantum physics: acausality, wave-particle duality, Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox, and so on. These are matters of growing interest for physicists. Several paradoxes have plagued quantum physics since its beginnings, the easiest of which to solve are the paradoxes of completeness (Schroedinger's cat, Wigner's friend, de Broglie's box, etc.). At a deeper level is the paradox of wave-particle duality whose solution probably requires the Einstein-de Broglie picture of atomic systems. The most difficult of them all is the EPR paradox (incompatibility between local realism and quantum theory). The book shows that experimental research can, in principle, solve paradoxes such as EPR and wave-particle duality but that the experiments performed on Bell-type inequalities have instead left the conceptual situation fundamentally unmodified. For a fair understanding of the Einstein-de Broglie and of the Bohr-Heisenberg ideas, an 'internal' lecture of physics is not enough. Such 'external' elements as individual biographies, history of culture, and philosophical preconceptions prove also to be important. (author). refs.; figs.; tabs

  13. Microcanonical quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strominger, A.

    1983-01-01

    Euclidean quantum field theory is equivalent to the equilibrium statistical mechanics of classical fields in 4+1 dimensions at temperature h. It is well known in statistical mechanics that the theory of systems at fixed temperature is embedded within the more general and fundamental theory of systems at fixed energy. We therefore develop, in precise analogy, a fixed action (macrocanonical) formulation of quantum field theory. For the case of ordinary renormalizable field theories, we show (with one exception) that the microcanonical is entirely equivalent to the canonical formulation. That is, for some particular fixed value of the total action, the Green's functions of the microcanonical theory are equal, in the bulk limit, to those of the canonical theory. The microcanonical perturbation expansion is developed in some detail for lambdaphi 4 . The particular value of the action for which the two formulations are equivalent can be calculated to all orders in perturbation theory. We prove, using Lehmann's Theorem, that this value is one-half Planck unit per degree of freedom, if fermionic degrees of freedom are counted negatively. This is the 4+1 dimensional analog of the equipartition theorem. The one exception to this is supersymmetric theories. A microcanonical formulation exists if and only if supersymmetry is broken. In statistical mechanics and in field theory there are systems for which the canonical description is pathological, but the microcanonical is not. An example of such a field theory is found in one dimension. A semiclassical expansion of the microcanonical theory is well defined, while an expansion of the canonical theory is hoplessly divergent

  14. A Quantum Version of Wigner's Transition State Theory

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schubert, R.; Waalkens, H.; Wiggins, S.

    A quantum version of a recent realization of Wigner's transition state theory in phase space is presented. The theory developed builds on a quantum normal form which locally decouples the quantum dynamics near the transition state to any desired order in (h) over bar. This leads to an explicit

  15. Group field theory and simplicial quantum gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oriti, D

    2010-01-01

    We present a new group field theory for 4D quantum gravity. It incorporates the constraints that give gravity from BF theory and has quantum amplitudes with the explicit form of simplicial path integrals for first-order gravity. The geometric interpretation of the variables and of the contributions to the quantum amplitudes is manifest. This allows a direct link with other simplicial gravity approaches, like quantum Regge calculus, in the form of the amplitudes of the model, and dynamical triangulations, which we show to correspond to a simple restriction of the same.

  16. Progress in the axiomatic quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vladimirov, V.S.; Polivanov, M.K.

    1975-01-01

    The authors consider the development of mathematical methods of solving quantum field theory problems from attempts of simple perfection of usual methods of quantum mechanics by elaborating the methods of perturbation theory and S-matrix, by working out the perturbation theory for quantum electrodynamics, and by applying dispersion relations and S-matrix for strong interactions. The method of dispersion relations results in the majority of radically new ways of describing the scattering amplitude. The grave disadvantage of all the methods is that they little define the dynamics of processes. The dynamic theory in the Heisenberg representation may be constructed on the basis of the axiomatic theory of S-matrix with the casuality condition. Another axiomatic direction has been recently developed; that is the so-called algebraic axiomatics which makes use of methods of Csup(*)-algebras

  17. Relativity, Symmetry, and the Structure of Quantum Theory, Volume 2; Point form relativistic quantum mechanics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klink, William H.; Schweiger, Wolfgang

    2018-03-01

    This book covers relativistic quantum theory from the point of view of a particle theory, based on the irreducible representations of the Poincaré group, the group that expresses the symmetry of Einstein relativity. There are several ways of formulating such a theory; this book develops what is called relativistic point form quantum mechanics, which, unlike quantum field theory, deals with a fixed number of particles in a relativistically invariant way. A chapter is devoted to applications of point form quantum mechanics to nuclear physics.

  18. Correction of the exciton Bohr radius in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Run-Ze; Dong, Xi-Ying; Li, Zhi-Qing; Wang, Zi-Wu

    2018-07-01

    We theoretically investigate the correction of exciton Bohr radius in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) on different polar substrates arising from the exciton-optical phonon coupling, in which both the intrinsic longitudinal optical phonon and surface optical phonon modes couple with the exciton are taken into account. We find that the exciton Bohr radius is enlarged markedly due to these coupling. Moreover, it can be changed on a large scale by modulating the polarizability of polar substrate and the internal distance between the monolayer TMDCs and polar substrate. Theoretical result provides a potential explanation for the variation of the exciton Bohr radius in experimental measurement.

  19. Topological quantum field theory and four manifolds

    CERN Document Server

    Marino, Marcos

    2005-01-01

    The present book is the first of its kind in dealing with topological quantum field theories and their applications to topological aspects of four manifolds. It is not only unique for this reason but also because it contains sufficient introductory material that it can be read by mathematicians and theoretical physicists. On the one hand, it contains a chapter dealing with topological aspects of four manifolds, on the other hand it provides a full introduction to supersymmetry. The book constitutes an essential tool for researchers interested in the basics of topological quantum field theory, since these theories are introduced in detail from a general point of view. In addition, the book describes Donaldson theory and Seiberg-Witten theory, and provides all the details that have led to the connection between these theories using topological quantum field theory. It provides a full account of Witten’s magic formula relating Donaldson and Seiberg-Witten invariants. Furthermore, the book presents some of the ...

  20. The Sommerfeld enhancement for dark matter with an excited state

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slatyer, Tracy R.

    2010-01-01

    We present an analysis of the Sommerfeld enhancement to dark matter annihilation in the presence of an excited state, where the interaction inducing the enhancement is purely off-diagonal, such as in models of exciting or inelastic dark matter. We derive a simple and accurate semi-analytic approximation for the s-wave enhancement, which is valid provided the mass splitting between the ground and excited states is not too large, and discuss the cutoff of the enhancement for large mass splittings. We reproduce previously derived results in the appropriate limits, and demonstrate excellent agreement with numerical calculations of the enhancement. We show that the presence of an excited state leads to generically larger values of the Sommerfeld enhancement, larger resonances, and shifting of the resonances to lower mediator masses. Furthermore, in the presence of a mass splitting the enhancement is no longer a monotonic function of velocity: the enhancement where the kinetic energy is close to that required to excite the higher state can be up to twice as large as the enhancement at zero velocity

  1. Structural aspects of quantum field theory and noncommutative geometry

    CERN Document Server

    Grensing, Gerhard

    2013-01-01

    This book is devoted to the subject of quantum field theory. It is divided into two volumes. The first can serve as a textbook on the main techniques and results of quantum field theory, while the second treats more recent developments, in particular the subject of quantum groups and noncommutative geometry, and their interrelation. The first volume is directed at graduate students who want to learn the basic facts about quantum field theory. It begins with a gentle introduction to classical field theory, including the standard model of particle physics, general relativity, and also supergravity. The transition to quantized fields is performed with path integral techniques, by means of which the one-loop renormalization of a self-interacting scalar quantum field, of quantum electrodynamics, and the asymptotic freedom of quantum chromodynamics is treated. In the last part of the first volume, the application of path integral methods to systems of quantum statistical mechanics is covered. The book ends with a r...

  2. Bohr's Philosophy of Wave–Particle Complementarity

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 18; Issue 10. Bohr's Philosophy of Wave–Particle Complementarity. Dipankar Home. General Article Volume 18 Issue 10 October 2013 pp 905-916. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link:

  3. Bohr effect of human hemoglobin: Separation of tertiary and quaternary contributions based on the Wyman equation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okonjo, Kehinde Onwochei

    2017-09-01

    As a prelude to separating tertiary from quaternary structure contributions to the Bohr effect, we employed the Wyman equation to analyze Bohr data for human hemoglobin to which 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate, 2,3-BPG, is bound. Changes in the pK a s of the histidine Bohr groups result in a net reduction of their contributions to the Bohr effect at pH 7.4 compared to their contributions in stripped hemoglobin. The non-histidine 2,3-BPG binding groups - the β-chain terminal amino group and Lys82β - make negative and positive contributions, respectively, to the Bohr effect. The final result is that the Bohr effect at physiological pH is higher for 2,3-BPG bound compared to stripped hemoglobin. Contributions linked to His2β, His77β and His143β enable us to separate tertiary from quaternary Bohr contributions in stripped and in 2,3-BPG bound hemoglobin. Both contributions serve to make the Bohr effect for 2,3-BPG bound hemoglobin higher than for stripped hemoglobin at physiological pH. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. The conceptual basis of Quantum Field Theory

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hooft, G. 't

    2005-01-01

    Relativistic Quantum Field Theory is a mathematical scheme to describe the sub-atomic particles and forces. The basic starting point is that the axioms of Special Relativity on the one hand and those of Quantum Mechanics on the other, should be combined into one theory. The fundamental

  5. Recoverability in quantum information theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilde, Mark

    The fact that the quantum relative entropy is non-increasing with respect to quantum physical evolutions lies at the core of many optimality theorems in quantum information theory and has applications in other areas of physics. In this work, we establish improvements of this entropy inequality in the form of physically meaningful remainder terms. One of the main results can be summarized informally as follows: if the decrease in quantum relative entropy between two quantum states after a quantum physical evolution is relatively small, then it is possible to perform a recovery operation, such that one can perfectly recover one state while approximately recovering the other. This can be interpreted as quantifying how well one can reverse a quantum physical evolution. Our proof method is elementary, relying on the method of complex interpolation, basic linear algebra, and the recently introduced Renyi generalization of a relative entropy difference. The theorem has a number of applications in quantum information theory, which have to do with providing physically meaningful improvements to many known entropy inequalities. This is based on arXiv:1505.04661, now accepted for publication in Proceedings of the Royal Society A. I acknowledge support from startup funds from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at LSU, the NSF under Award No. CCF-1350397, and the DARPA Quiness Program through US Army Research Office award W31P4Q-12-1-0019.

  6. Quantum field theory and the standard model

    CERN Document Server

    Schwartz, Matthew D

    2014-01-01

    Providing a comprehensive introduction to quantum field theory, this textbook covers the development of particle physics from its foundations to the discovery of the Higgs boson. Its combination of clear physical explanations, with direct connections to experimental data, and mathematical rigor make the subject accessible to students with a wide variety of backgrounds and interests. Assuming only an undergraduate-level understanding of quantum mechanics, the book steadily develops the Standard Model and state-of-the-art calculation techniques. It includes multiple derivations of many important results, with modern methods such as effective field theory and the renormalization group playing a prominent role. Numerous worked examples and end-of-chapter problems enable students to reproduce classic results and to master quantum field theory as it is used today. Based on a course taught by the author over many years, this book is ideal for an introductory to advanced quantum field theory sequence or for independe...

  7. Introduction to quantum field theory

    CERN Document Server

    Chang, Shau-Jin

    1990-01-01

    This book presents in a short volume the basics of quantum field theory and many body physics. The first part introduces the perturbative techniques without sophisticated apparatus and applies them to numerous problems including quantum electrodynamics (renormalization), Fermi and Bose gases, the Brueckner theory of nuclear system, liquid Helium and classical systems with noise. The material is clear, illustrative and the important points are stressed to help the reader get the understanding of what is crucial without overwhelming him with unnecessary detours or comments. The material in the s

  8. Fractional statistics and quantum theory

    CERN Document Server

    Khare, Avinash

    1997-01-01

    This book explains the subtleties of quantum statistical mechanics in lower dimensions and their possible ramifications in quantum theory. The discussion is at a pedagogical level and is addressed to both graduate students and advanced research workers with a reasonable background in quantum and statistical mechanics. The main emphasis will be on explaining new concepts. Topics in the first part of the book includes the flux tube model of anyons, the braid group and quantum and statistical mechanics of noninteracting anyon gas. The second part of the book provides a detailed discussion about f

  9. Generalizing Prototype Theory: A Formal Quantum Framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diederik eAerts

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Theories of natural language and concepts have been unable to model the flexibility, creativity, context-dependence, and emergence, exhibited by words, concepts and their combinations. The mathematical formalism of quantum theory has instead been successful in capturing these phenomena such as graded membership, situational meaning, composition of categories, and also more complex decision making situations, which cannot be modeled in traditional probabilistic approaches. We show how a formal quantum approach to concepts and their combinations can provide a powerful extension of prototype theory. We explain how prototypes can interfere in conceptual combinations as a consequence of their contextual interactions, and provide an illustration of this using an intuitive wave-like diagram. This quantum-conceptual approach gives new life to original prototype theory, without however making it a privileged concept theory, as we explain at the end of our paper.

  10. Generalizing Prototype Theory: A Formal Quantum Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aerts, Diederik; Broekaert, Jan; Gabora, Liane; Sozzo, Sandro

    2016-01-01

    Theories of natural language and concepts have been unable to model the flexibility, creativity, context-dependence, and emergence, exhibited by words, concepts and their combinations. The mathematical formalism of quantum theory has instead been successful in capturing these phenomena such as graded membership, situational meaning, composition of categories, and also more complex decision making situations, which cannot be modeled in traditional probabilistic approaches. We show how a formal quantum approach to concepts and their combinations can provide a powerful extension of prototype theory. We explain how prototypes can interfere in conceptual combinations as a consequence of their contextual interactions, and provide an illustration of this using an intuitive wave-like diagram. This quantum-conceptual approach gives new life to original prototype theory, without however making it a privileged concept theory, as we explain at the end of our paper. PMID:27065436

  11. Topics in string theory and quantum gravity

    CERN Document Server

    Alvarez-Gaume, Luis

    1992-01-01

    These are the lecture notes for the Les Houches Summer School on Quantum Gravity held in July 1992. The notes present some general critical assessment of other (non-string) approaches to quantum gravity, and a selected set of topics concerning what we have learned so far about the subject from string theory. Since these lectures are long (133 A4 pages), we include in this abstract the table of contents, which should help the user of the bulletin board in deciding whether to latex and print the full file. 1-FIELD THEORETICAL APPROACH TO QUANTUM GRAVITY: Linearized gravity; Supergravity; Kaluza-Klein theories; Quantum field theory and classical gravity; Euclidean approach to Quantum Gravity; Canonical quantization of gravity; Gravitational Instantons. 2-CONSISTENCY CONDITIONS: ANOMALIES: Generalities about anomalies; Spinors in 2n dimensions; When can we expect to find anomalies?; The Atiyah-Singer Index Theorem and the computation of anomalies; Examples: Green-Schwarz cancellation mechanism and Witten's SU(2) ...

  12. Impact parameter representation from the Watson-Sommerfeld transform

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Islam, M.M.

    1976-01-01

    Using the Watson-Sommerfeld transform the elastic scattering amplitude of two spinless particles is shown to have an exact and unique impact parameter, or Fourier-Bessel (FB) representation. The representation is valid for all physical energies and scattering angles. Wallace's recent work is found to be an asymptotic expansion of the FB amplitude obtained from the partial-wave expansion. The way singularities of the partial-wave amplitude in the l-plane enter in the FB amplitude is also explicitly shown. (Auth.)

  13. Picturing quantum processes a first course in quantum theory and diagrammatic reasoning

    CERN Document Server

    Coecke, Bob

    2017-01-01

    The unique features of the quantum world are explained in this book through the language of diagrams, setting out an innovative visual method for presenting complex theories. Requiring only basic mathematical literacy, this book employs a unique formalism that builds an intuitive understanding of quantum features while eliminating the need for complex calculations. This entirely diagrammatic presentation of quantum theory represents the culmination of ten years of research, uniting classical techniques in linear algebra and Hilbert spaces with cutting-edge developments in quantum computation and foundations. Written in an entertaining and user-friendly style and including more than one hundred exercises, this book is an ideal first course in quantum theory, foundations, and computation for students from undergraduate to PhD level, as well as an opportunity for researchers from a broad range of fields, from physics to biology, linguistics, and cognitive science, to discover a new set of tools for studying proc...

  14. Quantum fermions and quantum field theory from classical statistics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wetterich, Christof

    2012-01-01

    An Ising-type classical statistical ensemble can describe the quantum physics of fermions if one chooses a particular law for the time evolution of the probability distribution. It accounts for the time evolution of a quantum field theory for Dirac particles in an external electromagnetic field. This yields in the non-relativistic one-particle limit the Schrödinger equation for a quantum particle in a potential. Interference or tunneling arise from classical probabilities.

  15. Can decoherence make quantum theories unfalsifiable? Understanding the quantum-to-classical transition without it

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oriols, X.

    2016-01-01

    Exact predictions for most quantum systems are computationally inaccessible. This is the so-called many body problem, which is present in most common interpretations of quantum mechanics. Therefore, predictions of natural quantum phenomena have to rely on some approximations (assumptions or simplifications). In the literature, there are different types of approximations, ranging from those whose justification is basically based on theoretical developments to those whose justification lies on the agreement with experiments. This last type of approximations can convert a quantum theory into an “unfalsifiable” quantum theory, true by construction. On the practical side, converting some part of a quantum theory into an “unfalsifiable” one ensures a successful modeling (i.e. compatible with experiments) for quantum engineering applications. An example of including irreversibility and dissipation in the Bohmian modeling of open systems is presented. On the ontological level, however, the present-day foundational problems related to controversial quantum phenomena have to avoid (if possible) being contaminated by the unfalsifiability originated from the many body problem. An original attempt to show how the Bohmian theory itself (minimizing the role of many body approximations) explains the transitions from a microscopic quantum system towards a macroscopic classical one is presented. (paper)

  16. The BOHR Effect before Perutz

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunori, Maurizio

    2012-01-01

    Before the outbreak of World War II, Jeffries Wyman postulated that the "Bohr effect" in hemoglobin demanded the oxygen linked dissociation of the imidazole of two histidines of the polypeptide. This proposal emerged from a rigorous analysis of the acid-base titration curves of oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin, at a time when the information on the…

  17. Neutrix calculus and finite quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ng, Y Jack; Dam, H van

    2005-01-01

    In general, quantum field theories (QFT) require regularizations and infinite renormalizations due to ultraviolet divergences in their loop calculations. Furthermore, perturbation series in theories like quantum electrodynamics are not convergent series, but are asymptotic series. We apply neutrix calculus, developed in connection with asymptotic series and divergent integrals, to QFT, obtaining finite renormalizations. While none of the physically measurable results in renormalizable QFT is changed, quantum gravity is rendered more manageable in the neutrix framework. (letter to the editor)

  18. Between general relativity and quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rayski, J.

    1982-01-01

    Some possibilities of reconciling general relativity with quantum theory are discussed. The procedure of quantization is certainly not unique, but depends upon the choice of the coordinate conditions. Most versions of quantization predict the existence of gravitons, but it is also possible to formulate a quantum theory with a classical gravity whereby the expectation values of Tsub(μν) constitute the sources of the classical metric field. (author)

  19. Locality and reality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stapp, H.P.

    1980-01-01

    Einstein's principle that no signal travels faster than light suggests that observations in one spacetime region should not depend on whether or not a radioactive decay is detected in a spacelike-separated region. This locality property is incompatible with the predictions of quantum theory, and this incompatibility holds independently of the questions of realism, objective reality, and hidden variables. It holds both in the pragmatic quantum theory of Bohr and in realistic frameworks. It is shown here to hold in a completed realistic quantum theory that reconciles Einstein's demand for a description of reality itself with Bohr's contention that quantum theory is complete. This completed realistic quantum theory has no hidden variables, and no objective reality in which observable attributes can become definite independently of observers. The theory is described in some detail, with particular attention to those aspects related to the question of locality. This completed realistic quantum theory is in principle more comprehensive than Bohn's pragmatic quantum theory because it is not limited in principle by the requirement that the observed system be physically separated from the observing one. Applications are discussed

  20. Numerical calculations in quantum field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rebbi, C.

    1984-01-01

    Four lecture notes are included: (1) motivation for numerical calculations in Quantum Field Theory; (2) numerical simulation methods; (3) Monte Carlo studies of Quantum Chromo Dynamics; and (4) systems with fermions. 23 references

  1. Quantum dissipation theory and applications to quantum transport and quantum measurement in mesoscopic systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Ping

    The thesis comprises two major themes of quantum statistical dynamics. One is the development of quantum dissipation theory (QDT). It covers the establishment of some basic relations of quantum statistical dynamics, the construction of several nonequivalent complete second-order formulations, and the development of exact QDT. Another is related to the applications of quantum statistical dynamics to a variety of research fields. In particular, unconventional but novel theories of the electron transfer in Debye solvents, quantum transport, and quantum measurement are developed on the basis of QDT formulations. The thesis is organized as follows. In Chapter 1, we present some background knowledge in relation to the aforementioned two themes of this thesis. The key quantity in QDT is the reduced density operator rho(t) ≡ trBrho T(t); i.e., the partial trace of the total system and bath composite rhoT(t) over the bath degrees of freedom. QDT governs the evolution of reduced density operator, where the effects of bath are treated in a quantum statistical manner. In principle, the reduced density operator contains all dynamics information of interest. However, the conventional quantum transport theory is formulated in terms of nonequilibrium Green's function. The newly emerging field of quantum measurement in relation to quantum information and quantum computing does exploit a sort of QDT formalism. Besides the background of the relevant theoretical development, some representative experiments on molecular nanojunctions are also briefly discussed. In chapter 2, we outline some basic (including new) relations that highlight several important issues on QDT. The content includes the background of nonequilibrium quantum statistical mechanics, the general description of the total composite Hamiltonian with stochastic system-bath interaction, a novel parameterization scheme for bath correlation functions, a newly developed exact theory of driven Brownian oscillator (DBO

  2. A relativistic theory for continuous measurement of quantum fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diosi, L.

    1990-04-01

    A formal theory for the continuous measurement of relativistic quantum fields is proposed. The corresponding scattering equations were derived. The proposed formalism reduces to known equations in the Markovian case. Two recent models for spontaneous quantum state reduction have been recovered in the framework of this theory. A possible example of the relativistic continuous measurement has been outlined in standard Quantum Electrodynamics. The continuous measurement theory possesses an alternative formulation in terms of interacting quantum and stochastic fields. (author) 23 refs

  3. High energy approximations in quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orzalesi, C.A.

    1975-01-01

    New theoretical methods in hadron physics based on a high-energy perturbation theory are discussed. The approximated solutions to quantum field theory obtained by this method appear to be sufficiently simple and rich in structure to encourage hadron dynamics studies. Operator eikonal form for field - theoretic Green's functions is derived and discussion is held on how the eikonal perturbation theory is to be renormalized. This method is extended to massive quantum electrodynamics of scalar charged bosons. Possible developments and applications of this theory are given [pt

  4. One Hundred Years of Bohr Model

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    IAS Admin

    In this article I shall present a brief review of the .... By 1900, the amount of information available about .... resulting value was in quite good agreement with the .... It is fair to say that Bohr's model of the atom is simple, elegant, revolutionary but ...

  5. Quantum theory in vector bundles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mayer, M.E.

    1986-01-01

    This paper describes a framework capable of accomodating quantum gauge theory (QGT), based on recent insights on the cohomological interpretation of ghosts, BRS-transformations, anomalies, and Schwinger terms. The hope is that the approach will lead to a trial marriage of quantum theory and gravity. Some points that are stressed are: nonabelian QGT is subtler than QED; in spite of their BRS-variance, the Yang-Mills potential together with the ghost-form are needed in addition to the field theory; the ghost form together with their Lagrange multiplier in a Lagrangian formalism makes its appearance through the BRS cohomology; and, in QGT one can treat the connection form, the curvature form and the ghost form in one of several ways

  6. Semiclassical multicomponent wave function

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mostovoy, M.V.

    A consistent method for obtaining the semiclassical multicomponent wave function for any value of adiabatic parameter is discussed and illustrated by examining the motion of a neutral particle in a nonuniform magnetic field. The method generalizes the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule to

  7. Contiguity and quantum theory of measurement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Green, H.S. [Adelaide Univ., SA (Australia). Dept. of Mathematical Physics]|[Adelaide Univ., SA (Australia). Dept. of Physics

    1995-12-31

    This paper presents a comprehensive treatment of the problem of measurement in microscopic physics, consistent with the indeterministic Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics and information theory. It is pointed out that there are serious difficulties in reconciling the deterministic interpretations of quantum mechanics, based on the concepts of a universal wave function or hidden variables, with the principle of contiguity. Quantum mechanics is reformulated entirely in terms of observables, represented by matrices, including the statistical matrix, and the utility of information theory is illustrated by a discussion of the EPR paradox. The principle of contiguity is satisfied by all conserved quantities. A theory of the operation of macroscopic measuring devices is given in the interaction representation, and the attenuation of the indeterminacy of a microscopic observable in the process of measurement is related to observable changes of entropy. 28 refs.

  8. Contiguity and quantum theory of measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Green, H.S.; Adelaide Univ., SA

    1995-01-01

    This paper presents a comprehensive treatment of the problem of measurement in microscopic physics, consistent with the indeterministic Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics and information theory. It is pointed out that there are serious difficulties in reconciling the deterministic interpretations of quantum mechanics, based on the concepts of a universal wave function or hidden variables, with the principle of contiguity. Quantum mechanics is reformulated entirely in terms of observables, represented by matrices, including the statistical matrix, and the utility of information theory is illustrated by a discussion of the EPR paradox. The principle of contiguity is satisfied by all conserved quantities. A theory of the operation of macroscopic measuring devices is given in the interaction representation, and the attenuation of the indeterminacy of a microscopic observable in the process of measurement is related to observable changes of entropy. 28 refs

  9. Radiation reaction in nonrelativistic quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharp, D.H.

    1979-01-01

    Some recent work is reviewed on the quantum theory of radiation reaction. The starting point is the Heisenberg operator equation of motion for a nonrelativistic point electron coupled to the quantized electromagnetic field. It is shown that this equation, in contrast to its classical counterpart, leads to a finite value for the electrostatic self-energy of a point electron and, for values of the fine structure constant α approximately less than 1, admits neither runaway behavior nor noncausal motion. Furthermore, the correspondence limit of the solution to the quantum mechanical equation of motion agrees with that of the Lorentz--Dirac theory in the classical regime, but without the imposition of additional conditions and with no possibility of observable noncausality. Thus, a consistent picture of a classical point electron emerges in the correspondence limit of the quantum mechanical theory. 17 references

  10. Quantum field theory on a cone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dowker, J.S.

    1977-01-01

    The expressions derived by Sommerfeld (Proc. Lond. Math. Soc.; 28: 417 (1897)) and Carslaw (Proc. Lond. Math. Soc.; 20: 121 (1898), 8: 365 (1910), 18: 291 (1919)) for the Green functions and diffusion kernels in a wedge of arbitrary angle are shown to be useful in discussions of the Feynman Green function in Rindler (Am. J. Phys.; 34: 1174 (1966)) space and other space-time metrics. (author)

  11. Is there a quantum theory of gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strominger, A.

    1984-01-01

    The paper concerns attempts to construct a unitary, renormalizable quantum field theory of gravity. Renormalizability and unitarity in quantum gravity; the 1/N expansion; 1/D expansions; and quantum gravity and particle physics; are all discussed. (U.K.)

  12. [Discussion on quantum entanglement theory and acupuncture].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jun; Wu, Bin; Chen, Sheng

    2017-11-12

    The quantum entanglement is a new discovery of modern physics and has drawn a widely attention in the world. After learning the quantum entanglement, the authors have found that many characteristics of quantum are reflected in TCM, acupuncture theory and clinical practice. For example, the quantum entanglement phenomenon is mutually verified with the holism, yinyang doctrine, the theory of primary, secondary, root and knot in TCM, etc. It can be applied to interpret the clinical situations which is difficult to be explained in clinical practice, such as the instant effect of acupuncture, multi-point stimulation in one disorder and the points with specific effects. On the basis of the discovery above, the quantum entanglement theory achieved the mutual treatment among the relatives in acupuncture clinical practice and the therapeutic effects were significant. The results suggest that the coupling relationship in quantum entanglement presents between the diseases and the acupoints in the direct relative. The authors believe that the discovery in this study contributes to the exploration on the approaches to the acupuncture treatment in clinical practice and enrich the ideas on the disease prevention.

  13. Quantum Theories of Self-Localization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernstein, Lisa Joan

    In the classical dynamics of coupled oscillator systems, nonlinearity leads to the existence of stable solutions in which energy remains localized for all time. Here the quantum-mechanical counterpart of classical self-localization is investigated in the context of two model systems. For these quantum models, the terms corresponding to classical nonlinearities modify a subset of the stationary quantum states to be particularly suited to the creation of nonstationary wavepackets that localize energy for long times. The first model considered here is the Quantized Discrete Self-Trapping model (QDST), a system of anharmonic oscillators with linear dispersive coupling used to model local modes of vibration in polyatomic molecules. A simple formula is derived for a particular symmetry class of QDST systems which gives an analytic connection between quantum self-localization and classical local modes. This formula is also shown to be useful in the interpretation of the vibrational spectra of some molecules. The second model studied is the Frohlich/Einstein Dimer (FED), a two-site system of anharmonically coupled oscillators based on the Frohlich Hamiltonian and motivated by the theory of Davydov solitons in biological protein. The Born-Oppenheimer perturbation method is used to obtain approximate stationary state wavefunctions with error estimates for the FED at the first excited level. A second approach is used to reduce the first excited level FED eigenvalue problem to a system of ordinary differential equations. A simple theory of low-energy self-localization in the FED is discussed. The quantum theories of self-localization in the intrinsic QDST model and the extrinsic FED model are compared.

  14. 3D quantum gravity and effective noncommutative quantum field theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freidel, Laurent; Livine, Etera R

    2006-06-09

    We show that the effective dynamics of matter fields coupled to 3D quantum gravity is described after integration over the gravitational degrees of freedom by a braided noncommutative quantum field theory symmetric under a kappa deformation of the Poincaré group.

  15. Integrable structures in quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Negro, Stefano

    2016-01-01

    This review was born as notes for a lecture given at the Young Researchers Integrability School (YRIS) school on integrability in Durham, in the summer of 2015. It deals with a beautiful method, developed in the mid-nineties by Bazhanov, Lukyanov and Zamolodchikov and, as such, called BLZ. This method can be interpreted as a field theory version of the quantum inverse scattering, also known as the algebraic Bethe ansatz. Starting with the case of conformal field theories (CFTs) we show how to build the field theory analogues of commuting transfer T matrices and Baxter Q -operators of integrable lattice models. These objects contain the complete information of the integrable structure of the theory, viz. the integrals of motion, and can be used, as we will show, to derive the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz and nonlinear integral equations. This same method can be easily extended to the description of integrable structures of certain particular massive deformations of CFTs; these, in turn, can be described as quantum group reductions of the quantum sine-Gordon model and it is an easy step to include this last theory in the framework of BLZ approach. Finally we show an interesting and surprising connection of the BLZ structures with classical objects emerging from the study of classical integrable models via the inverse scattering transform method. This connection goes under the name of ODE/IM correspondence and we will present it for the specific case of quantum sine-Gordon model only. (topical review)

  16. Are Quantum Theory Questions Epistemic?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viviana Yaccuzzi Polisena

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available How to displace-move quantum theory [Ǭ] questions-problems to philosophy? Seeing the collapse of our society’s cultural-intellectual-morals, the philosophy of the 21st century has to contribute to the formation of new principles-formalisms: the big task of the contemporary philosophy ©] is to innovate, to transform the building of the knowledge! Which is the role of the contemporary philosopher? (Noam Chomsky. Building science so that it is more human, out of the scientific mercantilism so that it does not continue transgressing that which is most precious: the thought-life. The ideas that I propose demand a deep cultural-epistemiologicscientific-philosophical-ethical rethinking that goes from quantum entities up to life in society. The starting idea is «the quantum [Ǭ], the paradigm of the contemporary science ©]» (Bernard D’Espagnat. I propose to displace-move questions of the quantum theory [Ǭ]: spin, measure, layering to the field of philosophy (φ to build generic symbols. Can the contemporary episteme model the collapse of the ? For a philosopher, can understanding the importance and the behaviour of the spin bring something new to philosophy ? Can information of the states of the spin be used to observe in a holographic way the pattern energy-information contained in the quantum entities? Is quantum [Ǭ] physics mechanical?

  17. Reasonable fermionic quantum information theories require relativity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Friis, Nicolai

    2016-01-01

    We show that any quantum information theory based on anticommuting operators must be supplemented by a superselection rule deeply rooted in relativity to establish a reasonable notion of entanglement. While quantum information may be encoded in the fermionic Fock space, the unrestricted theory has a peculiar feature: the marginals of bipartite pure states need not have identical entropies, which leads to an ambiguous definition of entanglement. We solve this problem, by proving that it is removed by relativity, i.e., by the parity superselection rule that arises from Lorentz invariance via the spin-statistics connection. Our results hence unveil a fundamental conceptual inseparability of quantum information and the causal structure of relativistic field theory. (paper)

  18. Factorization algebras in quantum field theory

    CERN Document Server

    Costello, Kevin

    2017-01-01

    Factorization algebras are local-to-global objects that play a role in classical and quantum field theory which is similar to the role of sheaves in geometry: they conveniently organize complicated information. Their local structure encompasses examples like associative and vertex algebras; in these examples, their global structure encompasses Hochschild homology and conformal blocks. In this first volume, the authors develop the theory of factorization algebras in depth, but with a focus upon examples exhibiting their use in field theory, such as the recovery of a vertex algebra from a chiral conformal field theory and a quantum group from Abelian Chern-Simons theory. Expositions of the relevant background in homological algebra, sheaves and functional analysis are also included, thus making this book ideal for researchers and graduates working at the interface between mathematics and physics.

  19. Topos quantum theory on quantization-induced sheaves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakayama, Kunji

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we construct a sheaf-based topos quantum theory. It is well known that a topos quantum theory can be constructed on the topos of presheaves on the category of commutative von Neumann algebras of bounded operators on a Hilbert space. Also, it is already known that quantization naturally induces a Lawvere-Tierney topology on the presheaf topos. We show that a topos quantum theory akin to the presheaf-based one can be constructed on sheaves defined by the quantization-induced Lawvere-Tierney topology. That is, starting from the spectral sheaf as a state space of a given quantum system, we construct sheaf-based expressions of physical propositions and truth objects, and thereby give a method of truth-value assignment to the propositions. Furthermore, we clarify the relationship to the presheaf-based quantum theory. We give translation rules between the sheaf-based ingredients and the corresponding presheaf-based ones. The translation rules have “coarse-graining” effects on the spaces of the presheaf-based ingredients; a lot of different proposition presheaves, truth presheaves, and presheaf-based truth-values are translated to a proposition sheaf, a truth sheaf, and a sheaf-based truth-value, respectively. We examine the extent of the coarse-graining made by translation

  20. Quantum mechanics interpretation: scalled debate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanchez Gomez, J. L.

    2000-01-01

    This paper discusses the two main issues of the so called quantum debate, that started in 1927 with the famous Bohr-Einstein controversy; namely non-separability and the projection postulate. Relevant interpretations and formulations of quantum mechanics are critically analyzed in the light of the said issues. The treatment is focused chiefly on fundamental points, so that technical ones are practically not dealt with here. (Author) 20 refs

  1. Probing noncommutative theories with quantum optical experiments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanjib Dey

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available One of the major difficulties of modern science underlies at the unification of general relativity and quantum mechanics. Different approaches towards such theory have been proposed. Noncommutative theories serve as the root of almost all such approaches. However, the identification of the appropriate passage to quantum gravity is suffering from the inadequacy of experimental techniques. It is beyond our ability to test the effects of quantum gravity thorough the available scattering experiments, as it is unattainable to probe such high energy scale at which the effects of quantum gravity appear. Here we propose an elegant alternative scheme to test such theories by detecting the deformations emerging from the noncommutative structures. Our protocol relies on the novelty of an opto-mechanical experimental setup where the information of the noncommutative oscillator is exchanged via the interaction with an optical pulse inside an optical cavity. We also demonstrate that our proposal is within the reach of current technology and, thus, it could uncover a feasible route towards the realization of quantum gravitational phenomena thorough a simple table-top experiment.

  2. Bohrian Complementarity in the Light of Kantian Teleology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pringe, Hernán

    2014-03-01

    The Kantian influences on Bohr's thought and the relationship between the perspective of complementarity in physics and in biology seem at first sight completely unrelated issues. However, the goal of this work is to show their intimate connection. We shall see that Bohr's views on biology shed light on Kantian elements of his thought, which enables a better understanding of his complementary interpretation of quantum theory. For this purpose, we shall begin by discussing Bohr's views on the analogies concerning the epistemological situation in biology and in physics. Later, we shall compare the Bohrian and the Kantian approaches to the science of life in order to show their close connection. On this basis, we shall finally turn to the issue of complementarity in quantum theory in order to assess what we can learn about the epistemological problems in the quantum realm from a consideration of Kant's views on teleology.

  3. What If Quantum Theory Violates All Mathematics?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosinger Elemér Elad

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available It is shown by using a rather elementary argument in Mathematical Logic that if indeed, quantum theory does violate the famous Bell Inequalities, then quantum theory must inevitably also violate all valid mathematical statements, and in particular, such basic algebraic relations like 0 = 0, 1 = 1, 2 = 2, 3 = 3, … and so on …

  4. Quantum golden field theory - Ten theorems and various conjectures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Naschie, M.S.

    2008-01-01

    Ten theorems and few conjectures related to quantum field theory as applied to high energy physics are presented. The work connects classical quantum field theory with the golden mean renormalization groups of non-linear dynamics and E-Infinity theory

  5. Diffusive insights: on the disagreement of Christian Bohr and August Krogh at the Centennial of the Seven Little Devils

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gjedde, Albert

    2010-01-01

    The year 2010 is the centennial of the publication of the “Seven Little Devils” in the predecessor of Acta Physiologica. In these seven papers, August and Marie Krogh sought to refute Christian Bohr's theory that oxygen diffusion from the lungs to the circulation is not entirely passive but rather...

  6. Quantum theory and human perception of the macro-world.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aerts, Diederik

    2014-01-01

    We investigate the question of 'why customary macroscopic entities appear to us humans as they do, i.e., as bounded entities occupying space and persisting through time', starting from our knowledge of quantum theory, how it affects the behavior of such customary macroscopic entities, and how it influences our perception of them. For this purpose, we approach the question from three perspectives. Firstly, we look at the situation from the standard quantum angle, more specifically the de Broglie wavelength analysis of the behavior of macroscopic entities, indicate how a problem with spin and identity arises, and illustrate how both play a fundamental role in well-established experimental quantum-macroscopical phenomena, such as Bose-Einstein condensates. Secondly, we analyze how the question is influenced by our result in axiomatic quantum theory, which proves that standard quantum theory is structurally incapable of describing separated entities. Thirdly, we put forward our new 'conceptual quantum interpretation', including a highly detailed reformulation of the question to confront the new insights and views that arise with the foregoing analysis. At the end of the final section, a nuanced answer is given that can be summarized as follows. The specific and very classical perception of human seeing-light as a geometric theory-and human touching-only ruled by Pauli's exclusion principle-plays a role in our perception of macroscopic entities as ontologically stable entities in space. To ascertain quantum behavior in such macroscopic entities, we will need measuring apparatuses capable of its detection. Future experimental research will have to show if sharp quantum effects-as they occur in smaller entities-appear to be ontological aspects of customary macroscopic entities. It remains a possibility that standard quantum theory is an incomplete theory, and hence incapable of coping ultimately with separated entities, meaning that a more general theory will be needed.

  7. Quantum Theory and Human Perception of the Macro-World

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diederik eAerts

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available We investigate the question of 'why customary macroscopic entities appear to us humans as they do, i.e. as bounded entities occupying space and persisting through time', starting from our knowledge of quantum theory, how it affects the behavior of such customary macroscopic entities, and how it influences our perception of them. For this purpose, we approach the question from three perspectives. Firstly, we look at the situation from the standard quantum angle, more specifically the de Broglie wavelength analysis of the behavior of macroscopic entities, indicate how a problem with spin and identity arises, and illustrate how both play a fundamental role in well-established experimental quantum-macroscopical phenomena, such as Bose-Einstein condensates. Secondly, we analyze how the question is influenced by our result in axiomatic quantum theory, which proves that standard quantum theory is structurally incapable of describing separated entities. Thirdly, we put forward our new `conceptual quantum interpretation', including a highly detailed reformulation of the question to confront the new insights and views that arise with the foregoing analysis. At the end of the final section, a nuanced answer is given that can be summarized as follows. The specific and very classical perception of human seeing -- light as a geometric theory -- and human touching -- only ruled by Pauli's exclusion principle -- plays a role in our perception of macroscopic entities as ontologically stable objects in space. To ascertain quantum behavior in such macroscopic entities, we will need measuring apparatuses capable of its detection. Future experimental research will have to show if sharp quantum effects -- as they occur in smaller entities -- appear to be ontological aspects of customary macroscopic entities. It remains a possibility that standard quantum theory is an incomplete theory, and hence incapable of coping with separated entities, meaning that a more general

  8. Quantum theory in complex Hilbert space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, C.S.

    1988-01-01

    The theory of complexification of a real Hilbert space as developed by the author is scrutinized with the aim of explaining why quantum theory should be done in a complex Hilbert space in preference to real Hilbert space. It is suggested that, in order to describe periodic motions in stationary states of a quantum system, the mathematical object modelling a state of a system should have enough points in it to be able to describe explicit time dependence of a periodic motion without affecting the probability distributions of observables. Heuristic evidence for such an assumption comes from Dirac's theory of interaction between radiation and matter. If the assumption is adopted as a requirement on the mathematical model for a quantum system, then a real Hilbert space is ruled out in favour of a complex Hilbert space for a possible model for such a system

  9. Some remarks on quantum coherence theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burzynski, A.

    1982-01-01

    This paper is devoted to the basic topics connected with coherence in quantum mechanics and quantum theory of radiation. In particular the formalism of the normal ordered coherence functions in cases of one and many degrees of freedom is described in detail. A few examples illustrate the analysis of the coherence properties of the various quantum states of the field of radiation. (author)

  10. Quantum Field Theory at non zero temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alvarez-Estrada, R.

    1989-01-01

    The formulations of the Φ 4 Quantum Field Theory and of Quantum Electrodynamics in I+d dimensions (d spatial dimensions) at non-zero temperature are reviewed. The behaviours of all those theories in the regime of large distances and high temperatures are surveyed. Only results are reported, all technicalities being omitted. The leading high-temperature contributions to correlation functions, to all perturbative orders, in those theories turn out to be also given by simpler theories, having much milder (superrenormalizable) ultraviolet behaviour and special mass renormalizations. In particular, the triviality/non-triviality issue for the Φ 4 theory in 1+3 dimensions is discussed briefly. (Author)

  11. The Global Approach to Quantum Field Theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Folacci, Antoine; Jensen, Bruce

    2003-01-01

    Thanks to its impressive success in the second half of the 20th century, both in high-energy physics and in critical phenomena, quantum field theory has enjoyed an abundant literature. We therefore greet yet another book on this subject with caution: what can a monograph on quantum field theory bring now that is new, either conceptually or pedagogically? But when it is written by a physicist such as Bryce DeWitt, who has made his own contribution to the collection of field theory books with The Global Approach to Quantum Field Theory, all suspicion is naturally abandoned. DeWitt has made a formidable contribution to various areas of physics: general relativity, the interpretation of quantum mechanics, and most of all the quantization of non-Abelian gauge theories and quantum gravity. In addition, his pedagogical publications, especially the Les Houches schools of 1963 and 1983, have had a great impact on quantum field theory. We must begin by alerting the potential readers of this book that it cannot be compared to any other book in the field. This uniqueness applies to both the scientific content and the way the ideas are presented. For DeWitt, a central concept of field theory is that of 'space of histories'. For a field varphi i defined on a given spacetime M, the set of all varphi i (x) for all x in all charts of M defines its history. It is the space Phi of all possible histories (dynamically allowed or not) of the fields defined on M which is called the 'pace of histories' by DeWitt. If only bosonic fields are considered, the space of histories is an infinite-dimensional manifold and if fermionic fields are also present, it must be viewed as an infinite-dimensional supermanifold. The fields can then be regarded as coordinates on these structures, and the geometrical notions of differentiation, metric, connections, measure, as well as the geodesics which can be defined on it, are of fundamental importance in the development of the formalism of quantum field

  12. Entanglement in non-Hermitian quantum theory

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    hope that the entanglement in PT -symmetric quantum theory may provide new ways of processing information in the quantum world. We conclude our .... Similarly, if we have a two-level atom, then an arbitrary superposition of the ground state ...

  13. On the relation between the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox and the problem of nonlocality in quantum mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    de Muynck, W.M.

    1986-01-01

    The EPR problem is studied both from an instrumentalistic and from a realistic point of view. Bohr's reply to the EPR paper is analyzed and demonstrated to be not completely representative of Bohr's general views on the possibility of defining properties of a microscopic object. A more faithful Bohrian answer would not have led Einstein to the conclusion that Bohr's completeness claim of quantum mechanics implies nonlocality. The projection postulate, already denounced in 1936 by Margenau as the source of the EPR paradox, is found to be also at the origin of the nonlocality conundrum. Its unobservability in EPR-like experiments is demonstrated, thus showing the redundancy of the idea of nonlocality in the instrumentalist interpretation of quantum mechanics. It is argued that also from a realist point of view there is no reason to assume nonlocality. The relevance of Bohm's quantum potential and of Bells inequalities with respect to the (non) locality problem is discussed

  14. New foundation of quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmutzer, E.

    1976-01-01

    A new foundation of quantum theory is given on the basis of the formulated 'Principle of Fundamental Covariance', combining the 'Principle of General Relativity' (coordinate-covariance in space-time) and the 'Principle of Operator-Covariance' (in Hilbert space). The fundamental quantum laws proposed are: (1) time-dependent simultaneous laws of motion for the operators, general states and eigenstates, (2) commutation relations, (3) time-dependent eigenvalue equations. All these laws fulfill the Principle of Fundamental Covariance (in non-relativistic quantum mechanics with restricted coordinate transformations). (author)

  15. Foundations of quantum mechanics an exploration of the physical meaning of quantum theory

    CERN Document Server

    Norsen, Travis

    2017-01-01

    Authored by an acclaimed teacher of quantum physics and philosophy, this textbook pays special attention to the aspects that many courses sweep under the carpet. Traditional courses in quantum mechanics teach students how to use the quantum formalism to make calculations. But even the best students - indeed, especially the best students - emerge rather confused about what, exactly, the theory says is going on, physically, in microscopic systems. This supplementary textbook is designed to help such students understand that they are not alone in their confusions (luminaries such as Albert Einstein, Erwin Schroedinger, and John Stewart Bell having shared them), to sharpen their understanding of the most important difficulties associated with interpreting quantum theory in a realistic manner, and to introduce them to the most promising attempts to formulate the theory in a way that is physically clear and coherent. The text is acces sible to students with at least one semester of prior exposure to quantum (or...

  16. Progress in the axiomatic quantum field theory. [Review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vladimirov, V S; Polivanov, M K

    1975-01-01

    The authors consider the development of mathematical methods of solving quantum field theory problems from attempts of simple perfection of usual methods of quantum mechanics by elaborating the methods of perturbation theory and S-matrix, by working out the perturbation theory for quantum electrodynamics, and by applying dispersion relations and S-matrix for strong interactions. The method of dispersion relations results in the majority of radically new ways of describing the scattering amplitude. The grave disadvantage of all the methods is that they little define the dynamics of processes. The dynamic theory in the Heisenberg representation may be constructed on the basis of the axiomatic theory of S-matrix with the casuality condition. Another axiomatic direction has been recently developed; that is the so-called algebraic axiomatics which makes use of methods of Csup(*)-algebras.

  17. Metric quantum field theory: A preliminary look

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watson, W.N.

    1988-01-01

    Spacetime coordinates are involved in uncertainty relations; spacetime itself appears to exhibit curvature. Could the continua associated with field variables exhibit curvature? This question, as well as the ideas that (a) difficulties with quantum theories of gravitation may be due to their formulation in an incorrect analogy with other quantum field theories, (b) spacetime variables should not be any more basic than others for describing physical phenomena, and (c) if field continua do not exhibit curvature, the reasons would be of interest, motivated the formulation of a theory of variable curvature and torsion in the electromagnetic four-potential's reciprocal space. Curvature and torsion equation completely analogous to those for a gauge theory of gravitation (the Einstein-Cartan-Sciama-Kibble theory) are assumed for this continuum. The interaction-Hamiltonian density of this theory, to a first approximation, implies that in addition to the Maxwell-Dirac field interaction of ordinary quantum electrodynamics, there should also be an interaction between Dirac-field vector and pseudovector currents unmediated by photons, as well as other interactions involving two or three Dirac-field currents interacting with the Maxwell field at single spacetime events. Calculations expressing Bhabha-scattering cross sections for incident beams with parallel spins differ from those of unmodified quantum electrodynamics by terms of first order in the gravitational constant of the theory, but the corresponding cross section for unpolarized incident beams differs from that of the unmodified theory only by terms of higher order in that constant. Undesirable features of the present theory include its nonrenormalizability, the obscurity of the meaning of its inverse field operator, and its being based on electrodynamics rather than electroweak dynamics

  18. A Quantum Version of Wigner’s Transition State Theory

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schubert, R.; Waalkens, H.; Wiggins, S.

    2009-01-01

    A quantum version of a recent realization of Wigner’s transition state theory in phase space is presented. The theory developed builds on a quantum normal form which locally decouples the quantum dynamics near the transition state to any desired order in ħ. This leads to an explicit algorithm to

  19. Impact of Sommerfeld enhancement on helium reionization via WIMP dark matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bandyopadhyay, Bidisha; Schleicher, Dominik R. G.

    2018-03-01

    Dark matter annihilation can have a strong impact on many astrophysical processes in the Universe. In the case of Sommerfeld-enhanced annihilation cross sections, the annihilation rates are enhanced at late times, thus enhancing the potential annihilation signatures. We here calculate the Sommerfeld-enhanced annihilation signatures during the epoch of helium reionization, the epoch where helium becomes fully ionized due to energetic photons. When considering the upper limits on the energy injection from the CMB, we find that the resulting abundance of He++ becomes independent of the dark matter particle mass. The resulting enhancement compared to a standard scenario is thus 1-2 orders of magnitude higher. For realistic scenarios compatible with CMB constraints, there is no significant shift in the epoch of helium reionization, which is completed between redshifts 3 and 4. While it is thus difficult to disentangle dark matter annihilation from astrophysical contributions (active galactic nuclei), a potential detection of dark matter particles and its interactions using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) would allow one to quantify the dark matter contribution.

  20. How far are we from the quantum theory of gravity?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woodard, R P

    2009-01-01

    I give a pedagogical explanation of what it is about quantization that makes general relativity go from being a nearly perfect classical theory to a very problematic quantum one. I also explain why some quantization of gravity is unavoidable, why quantum field theories have divergences, why the divergences of quantum general relativity are worse than those of the other forces, what physicists think this means and what they might do with a consistent theory of quantum gravity if they had one. Finally, I discuss the quantum gravitational data that have recently become available from cosmology.

  1. Quantum theory of the solid state part B

    CERN Document Server

    Callaway, Joseph

    1974-01-01

    Quantum Theory of the Solid State, Part B describes the concepts and methods of the central problems of the quantum theory of solids. This book discusses the developed machinery applied to impurities, disordered systems, effects of external fields, transport phenomena, and superconductivity. The representation theory, low field diamagnetic susceptibility, electron-phonon interaction, and Landau theory of fermi liquids are also deliberated. This text concludes with an introduction to many-body theory and some applications. This publication is a suitable textbook for students who have completed

  2. Why do we need quantum theory?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ballo, P.; Racko, J.; Harmatha, L.

    2014-01-01

    A good starting point of this consideration can be a question 'Why do we need quantum theory?'. What is wrong with just using the methods of classical mechanics or electrodynamics. Although there are a number of arguments for quantum theory, many people still accept the quantum theory as an intellectual achievement having many arguments for own truth. Many of them are based on superstition of elegance of classical theory. As said Ludwig Boltzmann 'Elegance should be left to shoemakers and tailors, we should keep the law of mathematics'. The aim of this paper is to discuss some arguments for quantum mechanics which are mostly technical and maybe mathematical rigorous. Whereas some mathematics overstate the beginning let's are start with a little theory. In this discussion we will use the interaction representation (also known as the Dirac picture) which is an interactive picture between the Schroedinger and the Heisenberg picture. Although it sounds ominously, it is a very effective tool in cases where the influences of disturbance simultaneously changing both the wave function and observed variable. In this case the solution is to use with the aim to express many-body solution of the Schroedinger equation. The interaction representation constructs the solution of Schroedinger equation as the solution of the free particle problem plus some unknown interaction part. In our discussion we will use a hypothetical system (not very far from reality) which contains a mixture of dissipative and other (yet unknown) subsystems with very different qualities. It has been shown that right in this configuration the interaction representation is very useful. (authors)

  3. A general action for topological quantum field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dayi, O.F.

    1989-03-01

    Topological field theories can be formulated by beginning from a higher dimensional action. The additional dimension is an unphysical time parameter and the action is the derivative of a functional W with respect to this variable. In the d = 4 case, it produces actions which are shown to give topological quantum field theory after gauge fixing. In d = 3 this action leads to the Hamiltonian, which yields the Floer groups if the additional parameter is treated as physical when W is the pure Chern-Simons action. This W can be used to define a topological quantum field theory in d = 3 by treating the additional parameter as unphysical. The BFV-BRST operator quantization of this theory yields to an enlarged system which has only first class constraints. This is not identical to the previously introduced d = 3 topological quantum field theory, even if it is shown that the latter theory also gives the theory which we began with, after a partial gauge fixing. (author). 18 refs

  4. Quantum Yang-Mills theory of Riemann surfaces and conformal field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Killingback, T.P.

    1989-01-01

    It is shown that Yang-Mills theory on a smooth surface, when suitably quantized, is a topological quantum field theory. This topological gauge theory is intimately related to two-dimensional conformal field theory. It is conjectured that all conformal field theories may be obtained from Yang-Mills theory on smooth surfaces. (orig.)

  5. Superconducting quantum circuits theory and application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Xiuhao

    Superconducting quantum circuit models are widely used to understand superconducting devices. This thesis consists of four studies wherein the superconducting quantum circuit is used to illustrate challenges related to quantum information encoding and processing, quantum simulation, quantum signal detection and amplification. The existence of scalar Aharanov-Bohm phase has been a controversial topic for decades. Scalar AB phase, defined as time integral of electric potential, gives rises to an extra phase factor in wavefunction. We proposed a superconducting quantum Faraday cage to detect temporal interference effect as a consequence of scalar AB phase. Using the superconducting quantum circuit model, the physical system is solved and resulting AB effect is predicted. Further discussion in this chapter shows that treating the experimental apparatus quantum mechanically, spatial scalar AB effect, proposed by Aharanov-Bohm, can't be observed. Either a decoherent interference apparatus is used to observe spatial scalar AB effect, or a quantum Faraday cage is used to observe temporal scalar AB effect. The second study involves protecting a quantum system from losing coherence, which is crucial to any practical quantum computation scheme. We present a theory to encode any qubit, especially superconducting qubits, into a universal quantum degeneracy point (UQDP) where low frequency noise is suppressed significantly. Numerical simulations for superconducting charge qubit using experimental parameters show that its coherence time is prolong by two orders of magnitude using our universal degeneracy point approach. With this improvement, a set of universal quantum gates can be performed at high fidelity without losing too much quantum coherence. Starting in 2004, the use of circuit QED has enabled the manipulation of superconducting qubits with photons. We applied quantum optical approach to model coupled resonators and obtained a four-wave mixing toolbox to operate photons

  6. The structure of states and maps in quantum theory

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Pramana – Journal of Physics; Volume 73; Issue 3. The structure of states and maps in quantum theory. Sudhavathani Simon S P ... The structure of statistical state spaces in the classical and quantum theories are compared in an interesting and novel manner. Quantum state spaces and maps on them ...

  7. History and future. In commemoration of quantum theory's centenary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Guangzhao

    2001-01-01

    The history of the discovery of quantum theory and the debate around its interpretation is reviewed. The strong influence of quantum mechanics on the development of science ad philosophy is emphasized and its impact on social technological and economic development is discussed. Possible directions for further development of quantum theory are also mentioned

  8. Characterization of particle states in relativistic classical quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horwitz, L.P.; Rabin, Y.

    1977-02-01

    Classical and quantum relativistic mechanics are studied. The notion of a ''particle'' is defined in the classical case and the interpretation of mechanics in space-time is clarified. These notions are carried over to the quantum theory, as much as possible. The relation between the results of Feyman's path integral approach and the theory of Horwitz and Piron is discussed. The ''particle'' interpretation is shown to imply an asymptotic condition for scattering. A general method of constructing the dynamical mass spectrum of composite ''particle'' states is discussed. An interference experiment is proposed to affirm the interpretation and applicability of Stueckelberg type wave functions for actual physical phenomena. Some discussion of the relation of this relativistic quantum theory to Feynman's approach to quantum field theory is also given

  9. Elements of quantum computing history, theories and engineering applications

    CERN Document Server

    Akama, Seiki

    2015-01-01

    A quantum computer is a computer based on a computational model which uses quantum mechanics, which is a subfield of physics to study phenomena at the micro level. There has been a growing interest on quantum computing in the 1990's, and some quantum computers at the experimental level were recently implemented. Quantum computers enable super-speed computation, and can solve some important problems whose solutions were regarded impossible or intractable with traditional computers. This book provides a quick introduction to quantum computing for readers who have no backgrounds of both theory of computation and quantum mechanics. “Elements of Quantum Computing” presents the history, theories, and engineering applications of quantum computing. The book is suitable to computer scientists, physicist, and software engineers.

  10. Quantum field theory a tourist guide for mathematicians

    CERN Document Server

    Folland, Gerald B

    2008-01-01

    Quantum field theory has been a great success for physics, but it is difficult for mathematicians to learn because it is mathematically incomplete. Folland, who is a mathematician, has spent considerable time digesting the physical theory and sorting out the mathematical issues in it. Fortunately for mathematicians, Folland is a gifted expositor. The purpose of this book is to present the elements of quantum field theory, with the goal of understanding the behavior of elementary particles rather than building formal mathematical structures, in a form that will be comprehensible to mathematicians. Rigorous definitions and arguments are presented as far as they are available, but the text proceeds on a more informal level when necessary, with due care in identifying the difficulties. The book begins with a review of classical physics and quantum mechanics, then proceeds through the construction of free quantum fields to the perturbation-theoretic development of interacting field theory and renormalization theor...

  11. Quantum theory of scattering

    CERN Document Server

    Wu Ta You

    1962-01-01

    This volume addresses the broad formal aspects and applications of the quantum theory of scattering in atomic and nuclear collisions. An encyclopedic source of pioneering work, it serves as a text for students and a reference for professionals in the fields of chemistry, physics, and astrophysics. The self-contained treatment begins with the general theory of scattering of a particle by a central field. Subsequent chapters explore particle scattering by a non-central field, collisions between composite particles, the time-dependent theory of scattering, and nuclear reactions. An examinati

  12. Perturbative algebraic quantum field theory at finite temperature

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lindner, Falk

    2013-08-15

    We present the algebraic approach to perturbative quantum field theory for the real scalar field in Minkowski spacetime. In this work we put a special emphasis on the inherent state-independence of the framework and provide a detailed analysis of the state space. The dynamics of the interacting system is constructed in a novel way by virtue of the time-slice axiom in causal perturbation theory. This method sheds new light in the connection between quantum statistical dynamics and perturbative quantum field theory. In particular it allows the explicit construction of the KMS and vacuum state for the interacting, massive Klein-Gordon field which implies the absence of infrared divergences of the interacting theory at finite temperature, in particular for the interacting Wightman and time-ordered functions.

  13. Perturbative algebraic quantum field theory at finite temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lindner, Falk

    2013-08-01

    We present the algebraic approach to perturbative quantum field theory for the real scalar field in Minkowski spacetime. In this work we put a special emphasis on the inherent state-independence of the framework and provide a detailed analysis of the state space. The dynamics of the interacting system is constructed in a novel way by virtue of the time-slice axiom in causal perturbation theory. This method sheds new light in the connection between quantum statistical dynamics and perturbative quantum field theory. In particular it allows the explicit construction of the KMS and vacuum state for the interacting, massive Klein-Gordon field which implies the absence of infrared divergences of the interacting theory at finite temperature, in particular for the interacting Wightman and time-ordered functions.

  14. Quantum paradoxes and physical reality

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van der Merwe, Alwyn (Denver Univ., CO (USA). Dept. of Physics) (ed.); Selleri, Franco (Bologna Univ. (Italy). Ist. di Fisica)

    1990-01-01

    This book is devoted to the most fundamental themes of quantum physics: acausality, wave-particle duality, Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox, and so on. These are matters of growing interest for physicists. Several paradoxes have plagued quantum physics since its beginnings, the easiest of which to solve are the paradoxes of completeness (Schroedinger's cat, Wigner's friend, de Broglie's box, etc.). At a deeper level is the paradox of wave-particle duality whose solution probably requires the Einstein-de Broglie picture of atomic systems. The most difficult of them all is the EPR paradox (incompatibility between local realism and quantum theory). The book shows that experimental research can, in principle, solve paradoxes such as EPR and wave-particle duality but that the experiments performed on Bell-type inequalities have instead left the conceptual situation fundamentally unmodified. For a fair understanding of the Einstein-de Broglie and of the Bohr-Heisenberg ideas, an 'internal' lecture of physics is not enough. Such 'external' elements as individual biographies, history of culture, and philosophical preconceptions prove also to be important. (author). refs.; figs.; tabs.

  15. Quantum work relations and response theory in parity-time-symmetric quantum systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Bo-Bo

    2018-01-01

    In this work, we show that a universal quantum work relation for a quantum system driven arbitrarily far from equilibrium extends to a parity-time- (PT -) symmetric quantum system with unbroken PT symmetry, which is a consequence of microscopic reversibility. The quantum Jarzynski equality, linear response theory, and Onsager reciprocal relations for the PT -symmetric quantum system are recovered as special cases of the universal quantum work relation in a PT -symmetric quantum system. In the regime of broken PT symmetry, the universal quantum work relation does not hold because the norm is not preserved during the dynamics.

  16. Diffusive Insights: On the Disagreement of Christian Bohr and August Krogh at the Centennial of the Seven Little Devils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gjedde, Albert

    2010-01-01

    The year 2010 is the centennial of the publication of the "Seven Little Devils" in the predecessor of "Acta Physiologica". In these seven papers, August and Marie Krogh sought to refute Christian Bohr's theory that oxygen diffusion from the lungs to the circulation is not entirely passive but rather facilitated by a specific cellular activity…

  17. Erratum: Back reaction, emission spectrum and entropy spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Qing-Quan; Cai, Xu

    2012-06-01

    In our paper [Qing-Quan Jiang and Xu Cai, Back reaction, emission spectrum and entropy spectroscopy, JHEP 11 (2010) 066], there was an error in using the first law of black hole thermodynamic and the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule. In this erratum, we attempt to rectify them.

  18. Niels Bohr, Max Delbruck and the paradox of light and life

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scott, G.P.

    1983-01-01

    This paper features a concise, interdisciplinary history of philosophical issues which were the basis of Delbruck's scientific career. The paradox in living behavior of freedom-to-adapt versus deterministic atomism required complete reassessment with the advent of quantum mechanics. Apparent contradictions implied, for example, by the wave-particle model led Bohr to a belief in the ''complementarity of nature,'' which in 1932 he applied to biology. His claim was that purely physicochemical explanations of purposeful life functions such as ''self-generation and freedom of the will'' were impossible since mutually exclusive situations were involved. Thus Delbruck was challenged to spend his career investigating these vital functions. Beginning with ''fruit-fly photochemistry'' he established the molecular nature of the gene and then collected a world-wide group for a research effort on phage virus, which culminated in discovery of the DNA double helix by Watson and Crick. The second phase of his career featured a study of the total stimulus-response system of the fungus Phycomuces, which is still in progress. The extreme light-sensitivity observed, approaching one-quantum response, has raised the question of the survival value of amplified quantum noise. In critical comments to the author, Delbruck opposed the ''Compton-switch model'' for mind-body interaction; and in his lecture, ''Mind from Matter?'' he revealed his ''a priori concept of truth,'' which embraces a neutral monism and rejects the language of emergent evolution. His views are contrasted with those expressed in Popper's First Darwin Lecture

  19. Quantum field theory in curved spacetime and black hole thermodynamics

    CERN Document Server

    Wald, Robert M

    1994-01-01

    In this book, Robert Wald provides a coherent, pedagogical introduction to the formulation of quantum field theory in curved spacetime. He begins with a treatment of the ordinary one-dimensional quantum harmonic oscillator, progresses through the construction of quantum field theory in flat spacetime to possible constructions of quantum field theory in curved spacetime, and, ultimately, to an algebraic formulation of the theory. In his presentation, Wald disentangles essential features of the theory from inessential ones (such as a particle interpretation) and clarifies relationships between various approaches to the formulation of the theory. He also provides a comprehensive, up-to-date account of the Unruh effect, the Hawking effect, and some of its ramifications. In particular, the subject of black hole thermodynamics, which remains an active area of research, is treated in depth. This book will be accessible to students and researchers who have had introductory courses in general relativity and quantum f...

  20. Theory and application of quantum molecular dynamics

    CERN Document Server

    Zeng Hui Zhang, John

    1999-01-01

    This book provides a detailed presentation of modern quantum theories for treating the reaction dynamics of small molecular systems. Its main focus is on the recent development of successful quantum dynamics theories and computational methods for studying the molecular reactive scattering process, with specific applications given in detail for a number of benchmark chemical reaction systems in the gas phase and the gas surface. In contrast to traditional books on collision in physics focusing on abstract theory for nonreactive scattering, this book deals with both the development and the appli

  1. Excluding joint probabilities from quantum theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allahverdyan, Armen E.; Danageozian, Arshag

    2018-03-01

    Quantum theory does not provide a unique definition for the joint probability of two noncommuting observables, which is the next important question after the Born's probability for a single observable. Instead, various definitions were suggested, e.g., via quasiprobabilities or via hidden-variable theories. After reviewing open issues of the joint probability, we relate it to quantum imprecise probabilities, which are noncontextual and are consistent with all constraints expected from a quantum probability. We study two noncommuting observables in a two-dimensional Hilbert space and show that there is no precise joint probability that applies for any quantum state and is consistent with imprecise probabilities. This contrasts with theorems by Bell and Kochen-Specker that exclude joint probabilities for more than two noncommuting observables, in Hilbert space with dimension larger than two. If measurement contexts are included into the definition, joint probabilities are not excluded anymore, but they are still constrained by imprecise probabilities.

  2. Operational quantum theory without predefined time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oreshkov, Ognyan; Cerf, Nicolas J

    2016-01-01

    The standard formulation of quantum theory assumes a predefined notion of time. This is a major obstacle in the search for a quantum theory of gravity, where the causal structure of space-time is expected to be dynamical and fundamentally probabilistic in character. Here, we propose a generalized formulation of quantum theory without predefined time or causal structure, building upon a recently introduced operationally time-symmetric approach to quantum theory. The key idea is a novel isomorphism between transformations and states which depends on the symmetry transformation of time reversal. This allows us to express the time-symmetric formulation in a time-neutral form with a clear physical interpretation, and ultimately drop the assumption of time. In the resultant generalized formulation, operations are associated with regions that can be connected in networks with no directionality assumed for the connections, generalizing the standard circuit framework and the process matrix framework for operations without global causal order. The possible events in a given region are described by positive semidefinite operators on a Hilbert space at the boundary, while the connections between regions are described by entangled states that encode a nontrivial symmetry and could be tested in principle. We discuss how the causal structure of space-time could be understood as emergent from properties of the operators on the boundaries of compact space-time regions. The framework is compatible with indefinite causal order, timelike loops, and other acausal structures. (paper)

  3. A bifurcation and symmetry discussion of the Sommerfeld effect

    OpenAIRE

    Clerkin, Eoin; Sampaio, Rubens

    2017-01-01

    The Arnold Sommerfeld effect is an intriguing resonance capture and release series of events originally demonstrated in 1902. A single event is studied using a two degree of freedom mathematical model of a motor with imbalance mounted to laterally restricted spring connected cart. For a certain power supplied, in general the motor rotates at a speed consistent with a motor on a rigid base. However at speeds close to the natural frequency of the cart, it seemingly takes on extra oscillations w...

  4. On the consistency of quantum geometrodynamics and quantum field theories in the Bohm-de Broglie Interpretation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pinto-Neto, N.; Santini, E. Sergio. E-mail: nelsonpn@lafex.cbpf.br; santini@lafex.cbpf.br

    2000-12-01

    We consider quantum geometrodynamics and parametrized quantum field theories in the frame-work of the Bohm-de Broglie interpretation. In the first case, and following the lines of our previous work, where a Hamiltonian formalism for the bohmian trajectories was constructed, we show the consistency of the theory for any quantum potential, completing the scenarios for canonical quantum cosmology presented there. In the latter case, we prove the consistency of scalar field theory in Minkowski spacetime for any quantum potential, and we show, using this alternative Hamiltonian method, a concrete example already known in the literature where Lorentz invariance of individual events is broken. (author)

  5. Bohmian mechanics. The physics and mathematics of quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duerr, Detlef; Teufel, Stefan

    2009-01-01

    Bohmian Mechanics was formulated in 1952 by David Bohm as a complete theory of quantum phenomena based on a particle picture. It was promoted some decades later by John S. Bell, who, intrigued by the manifestly nonlocal structure of the theory, was led to his famous Bell's inequalities. Experimental tests of the inequalities verified that nature is indeed nonlocal. Bohmian mechanics has since then prospered as the straightforward completion of quantum mechanics. This book provides a systematic introduction to Bohmian mechanics and to the mathematical abstractions of quantum mechanics, which range from the self-adjointness of the Schroedinger operator to scattering theory. It explains how the quantum formalism emerges when Boltzmann's ideas about statistical mechanics are applied to Bohmian mechanics. The book is self-contained, mathematically rigorous and an ideal starting point for a fundamental approach to quantum mechanics. It will appeal to students and newcomers to the field, as well as to established scientists seeking a clear exposition of the theory. (orig.)

  6. Bohmian mechanics. The physics and mathematics of quantum theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duerr, Detlef [Muenchen Univ. (Germany). Fakultaet Mathematik; Teufel, Stefan [Tuebingen Univ. (Germany). Mathematisches Inst.

    2009-07-01

    Bohmian Mechanics was formulated in 1952 by David Bohm as a complete theory of quantum phenomena based on a particle picture. It was promoted some decades later by John S. Bell, who, intrigued by the manifestly nonlocal structure of the theory, was led to his famous Bell's inequalities. Experimental tests of the inequalities verified that nature is indeed nonlocal. Bohmian mechanics has since then prospered as the straightforward completion of quantum mechanics. This book provides a systematic introduction to Bohmian mechanics and to the mathematical abstractions of quantum mechanics, which range from the self-adjointness of the Schroedinger operator to scattering theory. It explains how the quantum formalism emerges when Boltzmann's ideas about statistical mechanics are applied to Bohmian mechanics. The book is self-contained, mathematically rigorous and an ideal starting point for a fundamental approach to quantum mechanics. It will appeal to students and newcomers to the field, as well as to established scientists seeking a clear exposition of the theory. (orig.)

  7. Quantum shielding effects on the Gamow penetration factor for nuclear fusion reaction in quantum plasmas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Myoung-Jae; Jung, Young-Dae

    2017-01-01

    The quantum shielding effects on the nuclear fusion reaction process are investigated in quantum plasmas. The closed expression of the classical turning point for the Gamow penetration factor in quantum plasmas is obtained by the Lambert W-function. The closed expressions of the Gamow penetration factor and the cross section for the nuclear fusion reaction in quantum plasmas are obtained as functions of the plasmon energy and the relative kinetic energy by using the effective interaction potential with the WKB analysis. It is shown that the influence of quantum screening suppresses the Sommerfeld reaction factor. It is also shown that the Gamow penetration factor increases with an increase of the plasmon energy. It is also shown that the quantum shielding effect enhances the deuterium formation by the proton-proton reaction in quantum plasmas. In addition, it is found that the energy dependences on the reaction cross section and the Gamow penetration factor are more significant in high plasmon-energy domains.

  8. Transformation & uncertainty : some thoughts on quantum probability theory, quantum statistics, and natural bundles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssens, B.

    2010-01-01

    This PHD thesis is concerned partly with uncertainty relations in quantum probability theory, partly with state estimation in quantum stochastics, and partly with natural bundles in differential geometry. The laws of quantum mechanics impose severe restrictions on the performance of measurement.

  9. Proceedings of the international colloquium on modern quantum field theory II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Das, S.R.; Mandal, G.; Mukhi, S.; Wadia, S.R.

    1995-01-01

    In the second International Colloquium on Modern Quantum Field Theory an attempt was made to cover a broad spectrum of topics in theoretical physics that included string theory, quantum gravity, statistical mechanics, condensed matter theory, complexity, lattice gauge theory and epistemological aspects of quantum mechanics. Papers relevant to INIS in the published proceedings are indexed separately

  10. Time-dependent quantum fluid density functional theory of hydrogen ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    WINTEC

    density functional theory; quantum fluid dynamics. 1. Introduction ... dynamics of strongly non-linear interaction of atoms with intense ... theory and quantum fluid dynamics in real space. .... clear evidence of bond softening since density in the.

  11. Diffusion, quantum theory, and radically elementary mathematics (MN-47)

    CERN Document Server

    Faris, William G

    2014-01-01

    Diffusive motion--displacement due to the cumulative effect of irregular fluctuations--has been a fundamental concept in mathematics and physics since Einstein''s work on Brownian motion. It is also relevant to understanding various aspects of quantum theory. This book explains diffusive motion and its relation to both nonrelativistic quantum theory and quantum field theory. It shows how diffusive motion concepts lead to a radical reexamination of the structure of mathematical analysis. The book''s inspiration is Princeton University mathematics professor Edward Nelson''s influential work in

  12. Operational resource theory of total quantum coherence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Si-ren; Yu, Chang-shui

    2018-01-01

    Quantum coherence is an essential feature of quantum mechanics and is an important physical resource in quantum information. Recently, the resource theory of quantum coherence has been established parallel with that of entanglement. In the resource theory, a resource can be well defined if given three ingredients: the free states, the resource, the (restricted) free operations. In this paper, we study the resource theory of coherence in a different light, that is, we consider the total coherence defined by the basis-free coherence maximized among all potential basis. We define the distillable total coherence and the total coherence cost and in both the asymptotic regime and the single-copy regime show the reversible transformation between a state with certain total coherence and the state with the unit reference total coherence. Extensively, we demonstrate that the total coherence can also be completely converted to the total correlation with the equal amount by the free operations. We also provide the alternative understanding of the total coherence, respectively, based on the entanglement and the total correlation in a different way.

  13. Path integrals for electronic densities, reactivity indices, and localization functions in quantum systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putz, Mihai V

    2009-11-10

    The density matrix theory, the ancestor of density functional theory, provides the immediate framework for Path Integral (PI) development, allowing the canonical density be extended for the many-electronic systems through the density functional closure relationship. Yet, the use of path integral formalism for electronic density prescription presents several advantages: assures the inner quantum mechanical description of the system by parameterized paths; averages the quantum fluctuations; behaves as the propagator for time-space evolution of quantum information; resembles Schrödinger equation; allows quantum statistical description of the system through partition function computing. In this framework, four levels of path integral formalism were presented: the Feynman quantum mechanical, the semiclassical, the Feynman-Kleinert effective classical, and the Fokker-Planck non-equilibrium ones. In each case the density matrix or/and the canonical density were rigorously defined and presented. The practical specializations for quantum free and harmonic motions, for statistical high and low temperature limits, the smearing justification for the Bohr's quantum stability postulate with the paradigmatic Hydrogen atomic excursion, along the quantum chemical calculation of semiclassical electronegativity and hardness, of chemical action and Mulliken electronegativity, as well as by the Markovian generalizations of Becke-Edgecombe electronic focalization functions - all advocate for the reliability of assuming PI formalism of quantum mechanics as a versatile one, suited for analytically and/or computationally modeling of a variety of fundamental physical and chemical reactivity concepts characterizing the (density driving) many-electronic systems.

  14. Noncommutative nature of the addition of noncollinear velocities in special relativity and the geometric phase method (commemorating the publication centennial of A Sommerfeld's work)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malykin, Grigorii B

    2010-01-01

    In 1909, Arnold Sommerfeld used geometric calculations to show that the relativistic addition of two noncollinear velocities on an imaginary-radius sphere is a noncommutative operation. Sommerfeld was the first to use the geometric phase method to calculate the angle between the resulting velocities depending on the order in which they are added. For this, he related the value of this angle to the excess of the spherical triangle formed by the two original velocities and their sum. In 1931, Sommerfeld applied his method to analyze the Thomas precession. (from the history of physics)

  15. Quantum Measurement Theory in Gravitational-Wave Detectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan L. Danilishin

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The fast progress in improving the sensitivity of the gravitational-wave detectors, we all have witnessed in the recent years, has propelled the scientific community to the point at which quantum behavior of such immense measurement devices as kilometer-long interferometers starts to matter. The time when their sensitivity will be mainly limited by the quantum noise of light is around the corner, and finding ways to reduce it will become a necessity. Therefore, the primary goal we pursued in this review was to familiarize a broad spectrum of readers with the theory of quantum measurements in the very form it finds application in the area of gravitational-wave detection. We focus on how quantum noise arises in gravitational-wave interferometers and what limitations it imposes on the achievable sensitivity. We start from the very basic concepts and gradually advance to the general linear quantum measurement theory and its application to the calculation of quantum noise in the contemporary and planned interferometric detectors of gravitational radiation of the first and second generation. Special attention is paid to the concept of the Standard Quantum Limit and the methods of its surmounting.

  16. Quantum Measurement Theory in Gravitational-Wave Detectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danilishin, Stefan L; Khalili, Farid Ya

    2012-01-01

    The fast progress in improving the sensitivity of the gravitational-wave detectors, we all have witnessed in the recent years, has propelled the scientific community to the point at which quantum behavior of such immense measurement devices as kilometer-long interferometers starts to matter. The time when their sensitivity will be mainly limited by the quantum noise of light is around the corner, and finding ways to reduce it will become a necessity. Therefore, the primary goal we pursued in this review was to familiarize a broad spectrum of readers with the theory of quantum measurements in the very form it finds application in the area of gravitational-wave detection. We focus on how quantum noise arises in gravitational-wave interferometers and what limitations it imposes on the achievable sensitivity. We start from the very basic concepts and gradually advance to the general linear quantum measurement theory and its application to the calculation of quantum noise in the contemporary and planned interferometric detectors of gravitational radiation of the first and second generation. Special attention is paid to the concept of the Standard Quantum Limit and the methods of its surmounting.

  17. Il danese tranquillo Niels Bohr, un fisico e il suo tempo, 1885-1962

    CERN Document Server

    Pais, Abraham

    1993-01-01

    Niels Bohr è una figura centrale nella fisica del Novecento, padre fondatore della teoria atomica e della meccanica quantistica. La storia della sua vita, ricca e piena anche sul piano affettivo e personale, non può dunque ridursi a un resoconto dei suoi successi scientifici e Pais, allievo e poi amico di Bohr, ne è perfettamente consapevole. Il libro si sviluppa su vari piani: capitoli strettamente biografici o storico-scientifici si alternano a discussioni sulle idee di Bohr in campo politico e filosofico, sui suoi rapporti con Einstein, sul suo ruolo nei drammatici anni della guerra e su molti altri aspetti della vicenda umana.

  18. BQP-completeness of scattering in scalar quantum field theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen P. Jordan

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Recent work has shown that quantum computers can compute scattering probabilities in massive quantum field theories, with a run time that is polynomial in the number of particles, their energy, and the desired precision. Here we study a closely related quantum field-theoretical problem: estimating the vacuum-to-vacuum transition amplitude, in the presence of spacetime-dependent classical sources, for a massive scalar field theory in (1+1 dimensions. We show that this problem is BQP-hard; in other words, its solution enables one to solve any problem that is solvable in polynomial time by a quantum computer. Hence, the vacuum-to-vacuum amplitude cannot be accurately estimated by any efficient classical algorithm, even if the field theory is very weakly coupled, unless BQP=BPP. Furthermore, the corresponding decision problem can be solved by a quantum computer in a time scaling polynomially with the number of bits needed to specify the classical source fields, and this problem is therefore BQP-complete. Our construction can be regarded as an idealized architecture for a universal quantum computer in a laboratory system described by massive phi^4 theory coupled to classical spacetime-dependent sources.

  19. Construction of relativistic quantum theory: a progress report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noyes, H.P.

    1986-06-01

    We construct the particulate states of quantum physics using a recursive computer program that incorporates non-determinism by means of locally arbitrary choices. Quantum numbers and coupling constants arise from the construction via the unique 4-level combinatorial hierarchy. The construction defines indivisible quantum events with the requisite supraluminal correlations, yet does not allow supraluminal communication. Measurement criteria incorporate c, h-bar and m/sub p/ or (not ''and'') G, connected to laboratory events via finite particle number scattering theory and the counter paradigm. The resulting theory is discrete throughout, contains no infinities, and, as far as we have developed it, is in agreement with quantum mechanical and cosmological fact

  20. Introductory lectures on quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alvarez-Gaume, L.; Vasquez-Mozo, M.A.

    2011-01-01

    In these lectures we present a few topics in quantum field theory in detail. Some of them are conceptual and some more practical. They have been selected because they appear frequently in current applications to particle physics and string theory. (author)

  1. Geometric continuum regularization of quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Halpern, M.B.

    1989-01-01

    An overview of the continuum regularization program is given. The program is traced from its roots in stochastic quantization, with emphasis on the examples of regularized gauge theory, the regularized general nonlinear sigma model and regularized quantum gravity. In its coordinate-invariant form, the regularization is seen as entirely geometric: only the supermetric on field deformations is regularized, and the prescription provides universal nonperturbative invariant continuum regularization across all quantum field theory. 54 refs

  2. What have we learned from quantum field theory in curved space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fulling, S.A.

    1984-01-01

    The paper reviews the quantum field theory in curved space-time. Field quantization in gravitational backgrounds; particle creation by black holes; Hawking radiation; quantum field theory in curved space-time; covariant renormalization of the stress-energy-momentum tensor; quantum field theory and quantum gravity; are all discussed. (U.K.)

  3. Random walks, critical phenomena, and triviality in quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez, R.; Froehlich, J.; Sokal, A.D.

    1992-01-01

    The subject of this book is equilibrium statistical mechanics - in particular the theory of critical phenomena - and quantum field theory. A general review of the theory of critical phenomena in spin systems, field theories, and random-walk and random-surface models is presented. Among the more technical topics treated in this book, the central theme is the use of random-walk representations as a tool to derive correlation inequalities. The consequences of these inequalities for critical-exponent theory and the triviality question in quantum field theory are expounded in detail. The book contains some previously unpublished results. It addresses both the researcher and the graduate student in modern statistical mechanics and quantum field theory. (orig.)

  4. Aspects of Nonlocality in Quantum Field Theory, Quantum Gravity and Cosmology

    CERN Document Server

    Barvinsky, A O

    2015-01-01

    This paper contains a collection of essays on nonlocal phenomena in quantum field theory, gravity and cosmology. Mechanisms of nonlocal contributions to the quantum effective action are discussed within the covariant perturbation expansion in field strengths and spacetime curvatures and the nonperturbative method based on the late time asymptotics of the heat kernel. Euclidean version of the Schwinger-Keldysh technique for quantum expectation values is presented as a special rule of obtaining the nonlocal effective equations of motion for the mean quantum field from the Euclidean effective action. This rule is applied to a new model of ghost free nonlocal cosmology which can generate the de Sitter stage of cosmological evolution at an arbitrary value of $\\varLambda$ -- a model of dark energy with its scale played by the dynamical variable that can be fixed by a kind of a scaling symmetry breaking mechanism. This model is shown to interpolate between the superhorizon phase of gravity theory mediated by a scala...

  5. Quantum theory of multiscale coarse-graining.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Yining; Jin, Jaehyeok; Wagner, Jacob W; Voth, Gregory A

    2018-03-14

    Coarse-grained (CG) models serve as a powerful tool to simulate molecular systems at much longer temporal and spatial scales. Previously, CG models and methods have been built upon classical statistical mechanics. The present paper develops a theory and numerical methodology for coarse-graining in quantum statistical mechanics, by generalizing the multiscale coarse-graining (MS-CG) method to quantum Boltzmann statistics. A rigorous derivation of the sufficient thermodynamic consistency condition is first presented via imaginary time Feynman path integrals. It identifies the optimal choice of CG action functional and effective quantum CG (qCG) force field to generate a quantum MS-CG (qMS-CG) description of the equilibrium system that is consistent with the quantum fine-grained model projected onto the CG variables. A variational principle then provides a class of algorithms for optimally approximating the qMS-CG force fields. Specifically, a variational method based on force matching, which was also adopted in the classical MS-CG theory, is generalized to quantum Boltzmann statistics. The qMS-CG numerical algorithms and practical issues in implementing this variational minimization procedure are also discussed. Then, two numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the method. Finally, as an alternative strategy, a quasi-classical approximation for the thermal density matrix expressed in the CG variables is derived. This approach provides an interesting physical picture for coarse-graining in quantum Boltzmann statistical mechanics in which the consistency with the quantum particle delocalization is obviously manifest, and it opens up an avenue for using path integral centroid-based effective classical force fields in a coarse-graining methodology.

  6. Quantum theory of multiscale coarse-graining

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Yining; Jin, Jaehyeok; Wagner, Jacob W.; Voth, Gregory A.

    2018-03-01

    Coarse-grained (CG) models serve as a powerful tool to simulate molecular systems at much longer temporal and spatial scales. Previously, CG models and methods have been built upon classical statistical mechanics. The present paper develops a theory and numerical methodology for coarse-graining in quantum statistical mechanics, by generalizing the multiscale coarse-graining (MS-CG) method to quantum Boltzmann statistics. A rigorous derivation of the sufficient thermodynamic consistency condition is first presented via imaginary time Feynman path integrals. It identifies the optimal choice of CG action functional and effective quantum CG (qCG) force field to generate a quantum MS-CG (qMS-CG) description of the equilibrium system that is consistent with the quantum fine-grained model projected onto the CG variables. A variational principle then provides a class of algorithms for optimally approximating the qMS-CG force fields. Specifically, a variational method based on force matching, which was also adopted in the classical MS-CG theory, is generalized to quantum Boltzmann statistics. The qMS-CG numerical algorithms and practical issues in implementing this variational minimization procedure are also discussed. Then, two numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the method. Finally, as an alternative strategy, a quasi-classical approximation for the thermal density matrix expressed in the CG variables is derived. This approach provides an interesting physical picture for coarse-graining in quantum Boltzmann statistical mechanics in which the consistency with the quantum particle delocalization is obviously manifest, and it opens up an avenue for using path integral centroid-based effective classical force fields in a coarse-graining methodology.

  7. Quantum communication, reference frames, and gauge theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Enk, S. J. van

    2006-01-01

    We consider quantum communication in the case that the communicating parties not only do not share a reference frame but use imperfect quantum communication channels, in that each channel applies some fixed but unknown unitary rotation to each qubit. We discuss similarities and differences between reference frames within that quantum communication model and gauge fields in gauge theory. We generalize the concept of refbits and analyze various quantum communication protocols within the communication model

  8. Gauge-fields and integrated quantum-classical theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stapp, H.P.

    1986-01-01

    Physical situations in which quantum systems communicate continuously to their classically described environment are not covered by contemporary quantum theory, which requires a temporary separation of quantum degrees of freedom from classical ones. A generalization would be needed to cover these situations. An incomplete proposal is advanced for combining the quantum and classical degrees of freedom into a unified objective description. It is based on the use of certain quantum-classical structures of light that arise from gauge invariance to coordinate the quantum and classical degrees of freedom. Also discussed is the question of where experimenters should look to find phenomena pertaining to the quantum-classical connection. 17 refs

  9. Atomic Quantum Simulations of Abelian and non-Abelian Gauge Theories

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2014-01-01

    Using a Fermi-Bose mixture of ultra-cold atoms in an optical lattice, in a collaboration of atomic and particle physicists, we have constructed a quantum simulator for a U(1) gauge theory coupled to fermionic matter. The construction is based on quantum link models which realize continuous gauge symmetry with discrete quantum variables. At low energies, quantum link models with staggered fermions emerge from a Hubbard-type model which can be quantum simulated. This allows investigations of string breaking as well as the real-time evolution after a quench in gauge theories, which are inaccessible to classical simulation methods. Similarly, using ultracold alkaline-earth atoms in optical lattices, we have constructed a quantum simulator for U(N) and SU(N) lattice gauge theories with fermionic matter based on quantum link models. These systems share qualitative features with QCD, including chiral symmetry breaking and restoration at non-zero temperature or baryon density. Unlike classical simulations, a quantum ...

  10. The grammar and syntax of quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peres, A.

    1990-01-01

    Quantum theory is expressed in a language using the vocabulary of classical physics. However, new meanings are attached to various words, and phrases which make sense in a classical situation become utterly meaningless in a quantum context. (author)

  11. Necessity of negativity in quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferrie, Christopher; Morris, Ryan; Emerson, Joseph

    2010-01-01

    A unification of the set of quasiprobability representations using the mathematical theory of frames was recently developed for quantum systems with finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces, in which it was proven that such representations require negative probability in either the states or the effects. In this article we extend those results to Hilbert spaces of infinite dimension, for which the celebrated Wigner function is a special case. Hence, this article presents a unified framework for describing the set of possible quasiprobability representations of quantum theory, and a proof that the presence of negativity is a necessary feature of such representations.

  12. Quantum effects from a purely geometrical relativity theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ellis, Homer G

    2005-01-01

    A purely geometrical relativity theory results from a construction that produces from three-dimensional space a happy unification of Kaluza's five-dimensional theory and Weyl's conformal theory. The theory can provide geometrical explanations for the following observed phenomena, among others: (a) visibility lifetimes of elementary particles of lengths inversely proportional to their rest masses; (b) the equality of charge magnitude among all charged particles interacting at an event; (c) the propensity of electrons in atoms to be seen in discretely spaced orbits; and (d) 'quantum jumps' between those orbits. This suggests the possibility that the theory can provide a deterministic underpinning of quantum mechanics like that provided to thermodynamics by the molecular theory of gases

  13. Group field theories for all loop quantum gravity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oriti, Daniele; Ryan, James P.; Thürigen, Johannes

    2015-02-01

    Group field theories represent a second quantized reformulation of the loop quantum gravity state space and a completion of the spin foam formalism. States of the canonical theory, in the traditional continuum setting, have support on graphs of arbitrary valence. On the other hand, group field theories have usually been defined in a simplicial context, thus dealing with a restricted set of graphs. In this paper, we generalize the combinatorics of group field theories to cover all the loop quantum gravity state space. As an explicit example, we describe the group field theory formulation of the KKL spin foam model, as well as a particular modified version. We show that the use of tensor model tools allows for the most effective construction. In order to clarify the mathematical basis of our construction and of the formalisms with which we deal, we also give an exhaustive description of the combinatorial structures entering spin foam models and group field theories, both at the level of the boundary states and of the quantum amplitudes.

  14. Quantum theory. 2. rev. ed.

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitter, H.

    1979-01-01

    This book is an introduction into quantum mechanics. After a general introduction the algebraic calculus of quantum mechanics in the framework of the Dirac brackets is described, whereby the probabilistic interpretation is introduced. Then some simple examples are described in this framework. After a description of the wave representation the general formalism of quantum mechanics is described. Then the Schroedinger equation is introduced. The angular momentum in quantum mechanics is then explicitely discussed. After a treatment of simple one- and two-body problems the parity and the probability current are discussed. Then the approximation methods are described. Finally some applications in atomic physics, simples many-body problems, and the scattering theory are dealed with. In the appendix the delta-function, orthogonal functions, the higher symmetry of the hydrogen problem, and the Galilei transformation in quantum mechanics are described. Every chapter conteins exercise problems. (HSI) [de

  15. The coevent formulation of quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wallden, Petros

    2013-01-01

    Understanding quantum theory has been a subject of debate from its birth. Many different formulations and interpretations have been proposed. Here we examine a recent novel formulation, namely the coevents formulation. It is a histories formulation and has as starting point the Feynman path integral and the decoherence functional. The new ontology turns out to be that of a coarse-grained history. We start with a quantum measure defined on the space of histories, and the existence of zero covers rules out single-history as potential reality (the Kochen Specker theorem casted in histories form is a special case of a zero cover). We see that allowing coarse-grained histories as potential realities avoids the previous paradoxes, maintains deductive non-contextual logic (alas non-Boolean) and gives rise to a unique classical domain. Moreover, we can recover the probabilistic predictions of quantum theory with the use of the Cournot's principle. This formulation, being both a realist formulation and based on histories, is well suited conceptually for the purposes of quantum gravity and cosmology.

  16. Topics in Theories of Quantum Gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perelstein, M.

    2005-01-01

    In this thesis, the author addresses several issues involving gravity. The first half of the thesis is devoted to studying quantum properties of Einstein gravity and its supersymmetric extensions in the perturbative regime. String theory suggests that perturbative scattering amplitudes in the theories of gravity are related to the amplitudes in gauge theories. This connection has been studied at classical (tree) level by Kawai, Lewellen and Tye. Here, they will explore the relationship between gravity and gauge theory at quantum (loop) level. This relationship, together with the cut-based approach to computing loop amplitudes, allow us to obtain new non-trivial results for quantum gravity. IN particular, they present two infinite sequences of one-loop n-graviton scattering amplitudes: the maximally helicity violating amplitudes in N = 8 supergravity, and the ''all-plus'' helicity amplitudes in Einstein gravity with any minimally coupled massless matter content. The results for n (le) 6 will be obtained by an explicit calculation, while those for n > 6 is inferred from the soft and collinear properties of the amplitudes. They also present an explicit expression for the two-loop contribution to the four-particle scattering amplitude in N = 8 supergravity, and observe a simple relation between this result and its counterpart in N = 4 super-Yang-Mills theory. Furthermore, the simple structure of the two-particle unitarity cuts in these theories suggests that similar relations exist to all loop orders. If this is the case, the first ultraviolet divergence in N = 8 supergravity should appear at five loops, contrary to the earlier expectation of a three-loop counterterm

  17. Relic density and CMB constraints on dark matter annihilation with Sommerfeld enhancement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zavala, Jesus; White, Simon D. M.; Vogelsberger, Mark

    2010-01-01

    We calculate how the relic density of dark matter particles is altered when their annihilation is enhanced by the Sommerfeld mechanism due to a Yukawa interaction between the annihilating particles. Maintaining a dark matter abundance consistent with current observational bounds requires the normalization of the s-wave annihilation cross section to be decreased compared to a model without enhancement. The level of suppression depends on the specific parameters of the particle model, with the kinetic decoupling temperature having the most effect. We find that the cross section can be reduced by as much as an order of magnitude for extreme cases. We also compute the μ-type distortion of the CMB energy spectrum caused by energy injection from such Sommerfeld-enhanced annihilation. Our results indicate that in the vicinity of resonances, associated with bound states, distortions can be large enough to be excluded by the upper limit |μ|≤9.0x10 -5 found by the FIRAS (Far Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer) instrument on the COBE (Cosmic Background Explorer) satellite.

  18. Cosmological perturbation theory and quantum gravity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brunetti, Romeo [Dipartimento di Matematica, Università di Trento,Via Sommarive 14, 38123 Povo TN (Italy); Fredenhagen, Klaus [II Institute für Theoretische Physik, Universität Hamburg,Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg (Germany); Hack, Thomas-Paul [Institute für Theoretische Physik, Universität Leipzig,Brüderstr. 16, 04103 Leipzig (Germany); Pinamonti, Nicola [Dipartimento di Matematica, Università di Genova,Via Dodecaneso 35, 16146 Genova (Italy); INFN, Sezione di Genova,Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova (Italy); Rejzner, Katarzyna [Department of Mathematics, University of York,Heslington, York YO10 5DD (United Kingdom)

    2016-08-04

    It is shown how cosmological perturbation theory arises from a fully quantized perturbative theory of quantum gravity. Central for the derivation is a non-perturbative concept of gauge-invariant local observables by means of which perturbative invariant expressions of arbitrary order are generated. In particular, in the linearised theory, first order gauge-invariant observables familiar from cosmological perturbation theory are recovered. Explicit expressions of second order quantities are presented as well.

  19. Density functional theory, natural bond orbital and quantum theory of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Density functional theory, natural bond orbital and quantum theory of atoms in molecule analyses on the hydrogen bonding interactions in tryptophan-water complexes. XIQIAN NIU, ZHENGGUO HUANG. ∗. , LINGLING MA, TINGTING SHEN and LINGFEI GUO. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Structure and Performance for ...

  20. Correlation inequalities for the Yukawa2 quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosen, L.

    1981-01-01

    Correlation inequalities have been useful in statistical mechanics and quantum field theory. In particular, in the case of strongly coupled bose quantum field models such as P(phi) 2 , correlation inequalities provide the best control of the infinite volume limit. The author reports on work in which the FKG inequality was established in the Yukawa 2 quantum field theory. An elementary proof of the first Griffiths inequality is also given. (Auth.)

  1. An ontological basis for the quantum theory. Pt. 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bohm, D.; Hiley, B.J.; Kaloyerou, P.N.

    1987-01-01

    In this paper we systematically develop an ontology that is consistent with the quantum theory. We start with the causal interpretation of the quantum theory, which assumes that the electron is a particle always accompanied by a wave satisfying Schroedinger's equation. This wave determines a quantum potential, which has several qualitatively new features, that account for the difference between classical theory and quantum theory. Firstly, it depends only on the form of the wave function and not on its amplitude, so that its effect does not necessarily fall off with the distance. From this, it follows that a system may not be separable from distant features of its environment, and may be non-locally connected to other systems that are quite far away from it. Secondly, in a many-body system, the quantum potential depends on the overall quantum state in a way that cannot be expressed as a preassigned interaction among the particles. These two features of the quantum potential together imply a certain new quality of quantum wholeness which is brought out in some detail in this article. Thirdly, the quantum potential can develop unstable bifurcation points, which separate classes of particle trajectories according to the ''channels'' into which they eventually enter and within which they stay. This explains how measurement is possible without ''collapse'' of the wave function, and how all sorts of quantum processes, such as transitions between states, fusion of two systems into one and fission of one system into two, are able to take place without the need for a human observer. Finally, we show how the classical limit is approached in a simple way, whenever the quantum potential is small compared with the contributions to the energy that would be present classically. (orig.)

  2. Fulltext PDF

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    twentieth century - the relativity theories and quantum ... major contributions coming from Planck, Einstein,. Bohr and .... cessful union of special relativity with quantum particles of ... the explanation of many puzzling features of the electron - its ...

  3. The significance of classical structures in quantum theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lowe, M.J.

    1978-09-01

    The implications for the quantum theory of the presence of non-linear classical solutions of the equations of motion are investigated in various model systems under the headings: (1) Canonical quantisation of the soliton in lambdaphi 4 theory in two dimensions. (2) Bound for soliton masses in two dimensional field theories. (3) The canonical quantisation of a soliton like solution in the non-linear schrodinger equation. (4) The significance of the instanton classical solution in a quantum mechanical system. (U.K.)

  4. Construction of relativistic quantum theory: a progress report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Noyes, H.P.

    1986-06-01

    We construct the particulate states of quantum physics using a recursive computer program that incorporates non-determinism by means of locally arbitrary choices. Quantum numbers and coupling constants arise from the construction via the unique 4-level combinatorial hierarchy. The construction defines indivisible quantum events with the requisite supraluminal correlations, yet does not allow supraluminal communication. Measurement criteria incorporate c, h-bar and m/sub p/ or (not ''and'') G, connected to laboratory events via finite particle number scattering theory and the counter paradigm. The resulting theory is discrete throughout, contains no infinities, and, as far as we have developed it, is in agreement with quantum mechanical and cosmological fact.

  5. "Scars" connect classical and quantum theory

    CERN Multimedia

    Monteiro, T

    1990-01-01

    Chaotic systems are unstable and extremely sensitive to initial condititions. So far, scientists have been unable to demonstrate that the same kind of behaviour exists in quantum or microscopic systems. New connections have been discovered though between classical and quantum theory. One is the phenomena of 'scars' which cut through the wave function of a particle (1 page).

  6. The g-theorem and quantum information theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Casini, Horacio; Landea, Ignacio Salazar; Torroba, Gonzalo [Centro Atómico Bariloche and CONICET,S.C. de Bariloche, Río Negro, R8402AGP (Argentina)

    2016-10-25

    We study boundary renormalization group flows between boundary conformal field theories in 1+1 dimensions using methods of quantum information theory. We define an entropic g-function for theories with impurities in terms of the relative entanglement entropy, and we prove that this g-function decreases along boundary renormalization group flows. This entropic g-theorem is valid at zero temperature, and is independent from the g-theorem based on the thermal partition function. We also discuss the mutual information in boundary RG flows, and how it encodes the correlations between the impurity and bulk degrees of freedom. Our results provide a quantum-information understanding of (boundary) RG flow as increase of distinguishability between the UV fixed point and the theory along the RG flow.

  7. Jauch-Piron property (everywhere!) in the logicoalgebraic foundation of quantum theories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pták, Pavel

    1993-10-01

    The Jauch-Piron property of states on a quantum logic is seen to be of considerable importance within the foundation of quantum theories. In this survey we summarize and comment on recent results on the Jauch-Piron property. We also pose a few open problems whose solution may help in further developing quantum theories and noncommutative measure theory.

  8. Clifford algebra in finite quantum field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moser, M.

    1997-12-01

    We consider the most general power counting renormalizable and gauge invariant Lagrangean density L invariant with respect to some non-Abelian, compact, and semisimple gauge group G. The particle content of this quantum field theory consists of gauge vector bosons, real scalar bosons, fermions, and ghost fields. We assume that the ultimate grand unified theory needs no cutoff. This yields so-called finiteness conditions, resulting from the demand for finite physical quantities calculated by the bare Lagrangean. In lower loop order, necessary conditions for finiteness are thus vanishing beta functions for dimensionless couplings. The complexity of the finiteness conditions for a general quantum field theory makes the discussion of non-supersymmetric theories rather cumbersome. Recently, the F = 1 class of finite quantum field theories has been proposed embracing all supersymmetric theories. A special type of F = 1 theories proposed turns out to have Yukawa couplings which are equivalent to generators of a Clifford algebra representation. These algebraic structures are remarkable all the more than in the context of a well-known conjecture which states that finiteness is maybe related to global symmetries (such as supersymmetry) of the Lagrangean density. We can prove that supersymmetric theories can never be of this Clifford-type. It turns out that these Clifford algebra representations found recently are a consequence of certain invariances of the finiteness conditions resulting from a vanishing of the renormalization group β-function for the Yukawa couplings. We are able to exclude almost all such Clifford-like theories. (author)

  9. Feynman's thesis: A new approach to quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Das, Ashok

    2007-01-01

    It is not usual for someone to write a book on someone else's Ph.D. thesis, but then Feynman was not a usual physicist. He was without doubt one of the most original physicists of the twentieth century, who has strongly influenced the developments in quantum field theory through his many ingenious contributions. Path integral approach to quantum theories is one such contribution which pervades almost all areas of physics. What is astonishing is that he developed this idea as a graduate student for his Ph.D. thesis which has been printed, for the first time, in the present book along with two other related articles. The early developments in quantum theory, by Heisenberg and Schroedinger, were based on the Hamiltonian formulation, where one starts with the Hamiltonian description of a classical system and then promotes the classical observables to noncommuting quantum operators. However, Dirac had already stressed in an article in 1932 (this article is also reproduced in the present book) that the Lagrangian is more fundamental than the Hamiltonian, at least from the point of view of relativistic invariance and he wondered how the Lagrangian may enter into the quantum description. He had developed this idea through his 'transformation matrix' theory and had even hinted on how the action of the classical theory may enter such a description. However, although the brief paper by Dirac contained the basic essential ideas, it did not fully develop the idea of a Lagrangian description in detail in the functional language. Feynman, on the other hand, was interested in the electromagnetic interactions of the electron from a completely different point of view rooted in a theory involving action-at-a-distance. His theory (along with John Wheeler) did not have a Hamiltonian description and, in order to quantize such a theory, he needed an alternative formulation of quantum mechanics. When the article by Dirac was brought to his attention, he immediately realized what he was

  10. The Global Approach to Quantum Field Theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Folacci, Antoine; Jensen, Bruce [Faculte des Sciences, Universite de Corse (France); Department of Mathematics, University of Southampton (United Kingdom)

    2003-12-12

    Thanks to its impressive success in the second half of the 20th century, both in high-energy physics and in critical phenomena, quantum field theory has enjoyed an abundant literature. We therefore greet yet another book on this subject with caution: what can a monograph on quantum field theory bring now that is new, either conceptually or pedagogically? But when it is written by a physicist such as Bryce DeWitt, who has made his own contribution to the collection of field theory books with The Global Approach to Quantum Field Theory, all suspicion is naturally abandoned. DeWitt has made a formidable contribution to various areas of physics: general relativity, the interpretation of quantum mechanics, and most of all the quantization of non-Abelian gauge theories and quantum gravity. In addition, his pedagogical publications, especially the Les Houches schools of 1963 and 1983, have had a great impact on quantum field theory. We must begin by alerting the potential readers of this book that it cannot be compared to any other book in the field. This uniqueness applies to both the scientific content and the way the ideas are presented. For DeWitt, a central concept of field theory is that of 'space of histories'. For a field varphi{sup i} defined on a given spacetime M, the set of all varphi{sup i}(x) for all x in all charts of M defines its history. It is the space Phi of all possible histories (dynamically allowed or not) of the fields defined on M which is called the 'pace of histories' by DeWitt. If only bosonic fields are considered, the space of histories is an infinite-dimensional manifold and if fermionic fields are also present, it must be viewed as an infinite-dimensional supermanifold. The fields can then be regarded as coordinates on these structures, and the geometrical notions of differentiation, metric, connections, measure, as well as the geodesics which can be defined on it, are of fundamental importance in the development of the

  11. Boundary effects on quantum field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Tae Hoon

    1991-01-01

    Quantum field theory in the S 1 *R 3 space-time is simply described by the imaginary time formalism. We generalize Schwinger-DeWitt proper-time technique which is very useful in zero temperature field theories to this case. As an example we calculate the one-loop effective potential of the finite temperature scala field theory by this technique.(Author)

  12. Axiomatic Quantum Field Theory in Terms of Operator Product Expansions: General Framework, and Perturbation Theory via Hochschild Cohomology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Hollands

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we propose a new framework for quantum field theory in terms of consistency conditions. The consistency conditions that we consider are ''associativity'' or ''factorization'' conditions on the operator product expansion (OPE of the theory, and are proposed to be the defining property of any quantum field theory. Our framework is presented in the Euclidean setting, and is applicable in principle to any quantum field theory, including non-conformal ones. In our framework, we obtain a characterization of perturbations of a given quantum field theory in terms of a certain cohomology ring of Hochschild-type. We illustrate our framework by the free field, but our constructions are general and apply also to interacting quantum field theories. For such theories, we propose a new scheme to construct the OPE which is based on the use of non-linear quantized field equations.

  13. The emergent multiverse quantum theory according to the Everett interpretation

    CERN Document Server

    Wallace, David

    2014-01-01

    The Emergent Multiverse presents a striking new account of the 'many worlds' approach to quantum theory. The point of science, it is generally accepted, is to tell us how the world works and what it is like. But quantum theory seems to fail to do this: taken literally as a theory of the world, it seems to make crazy claims: particles are in two places at once; cats are alive and dead at the same time. So physicists and philosophers have often been led either to give up on the idea that quantum theory describes reality, or to modify or augment the theory. The Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics takes the apparent craziness seriously, and asks, 'what would it be like if particles really were in two places at once, if cats really were alive and dead at the same time'? The answer, it turns out, is that if the world were like that-if it were as quantum theory claims-it would be a world that, at the macroscopic level, was constantly branching into copies-hence the more sensationalist name for the Everett in...

  14. Theoretical physics vol. 2. Quantum mechanics, relativistic quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, elementar-particle theory, thermodynamics and statistics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rebhan, E.

    2005-01-01

    The present second volume treats quantum mechanics, relativistic quantum mechanics, the foundations of quantum-field and elementary-particle theory as well as thermodynamics and statistics. Both volumes comprehend all fields, which are usually offered in a course about theoretical physics. In all treated fields a very careful introduction to the basic natural laws forms the starting point, whereby it is thoroughly analysed, which of them is based on empirics, which is logically deducible, and which role play basic definitions. Extendingly the matter extend of the corresponding courses starting from the relativistic quantum theory an introduction to the elementary particles is developed. All problems are very thoroughly and such extensively studied, that each step is singularly reproducible. On motivation and good understandability is cared much about. The mixing of mathematical difficulties with problems of physical nature often obstructive in the learning is so circumvented, that important mathematical methods are presented in own chapters (for instance Hilbert spaces, Lie groups). By means of many examples and problems (for a large part with solutions) the matter worked out is deepened and exercised. Developments, which are indeed important, but seem for the first approach abandonable, are pursued in excurses. This book starts from courses, which the author has held at the Heinrich-Heine university in Duesseldorf, and was in many repetitions fitted to the requirements of the students. It is conceived in such a way, that it is also after the study suited as dictionary or for the regeneration

  15. Non-perturbative aspects of quantum field theory. From the quark-gluon plasma to quantum gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Christiansen, Nicolai

    2015-01-01

    In this dissertation we investigate several aspects of non-perturbative quantum field theory. Two main parts of the thesis are concerned with non-perturbative renormalization of quantum gravity within the asymptotic safety scenario. This framework is based on a non-Gaussian ultraviolet fixed point and provides a well-defined theory of quantized gravity. We employ functional renormalization group (FRG) techniques that allow for the study of quantum fields even in strongly coupled regimes. We construct a setup for the computation of graviton correlation functions and analyze the ultraviolet completion of quantum gravity in terms of the properties of the two- and three point function of the graviton. Moreover, the coupling of gravity to Yang-Mills theories is discussed. In particular, we study the effects of graviton induced interactions on asymptotic freedom on the one hand, and the role of gluonic fluctuations in the gravity sector on the other hand. The last subject of this thesis is the physics of the quark-gluon plasma. We set-up a general non-perturbative strategy for the computation of transport coefficients in non-Abelian gauge theories. We determine the viscosity over entropy ratio η/s in SU(3) Yang-Mills theory as a function of temperature and estimate its behavior in full quantum chromodynamics (QCD).

  16. Quantum field theory in 2+1 dimensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marino, E.C.

    1998-01-01

    An introductory review is made of many outstanding features of Quantum Field Theory formulated in three-dimensional spacetime. These include topological properties, the Huygens Principle, the Coulomb potential, topological excitations like vortices and skyrmions, dynamical mass generation, fractional spin and statistics, duality nd bosonization. Theories including the Maxwell-Chern-Simons, Abelian Higgs and C P 1 -Nonlinear Sigma Model are used to illustrate the different features. Applications to High-T c Superconductivity and to the Quantum Hall Effect are also presented. (author)

  17. Lectures on algebraic quantum field theory and operator algebras

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schroer, Bert

    2001-04-01

    In this series of lectures directed towards a mainly mathematically oriented audience I try to motivate the use of operator algebra methods in quantum field theory. Therefore a title as why mathematicians are/should be interested in algebraic quantum field theory would be equally fitting. besides a presentation of the framework and the main results of local quantum physics these notes may serve as a guide to frontier research problems in mathematical. (author)

  18. Quantum tunneling and field electron emission theories

    CERN Document Server

    Liang, Shi-Dong

    2013-01-01

    Quantum tunneling is an essential issue in quantum physics. Especially, the rapid development of nanotechnology in recent years promises a lot of applications in condensed matter physics, surface science and nanodevices, which are growing interests in fundamental issues, computational techniques and potential applications of quantum tunneling. The book involves two relevant topics. One is quantum tunneling theory in condensed matter physics, including the basic concepts and methods, especially for recent developments in mesoscopic physics and computational formulation. The second part is the f

  19. The pure phases, the irreducible quantum fields, and dynamical symmetry breaking in Symanzik--Nelson positive quantum field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frohlich, J.

    1976-01-01

    We prove that a Symanzik--Nelson positive quantum field theory, i.e., a quantum field theory derived from a Euclidean field theory, has a unique decomposition into pure phases which preserves Symanzik--Nelson positivity and Poincare covariance. We derive useful sufficient conditions for the breakdown of an internal symmetry of such a theory in its pure phases, for the self-adjointness and nontrivially (in the sense of Borchers classes) of its quantum fields, and the existence of time-ordered and retarded products. All these general results are then applied to the P (phi) 2 and the phi 3 4 quantum field models

  20. Quantum integrable models of field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faddeev, L.D.

    1979-01-01

    Fundamental features of the classical method of the inverse problem have been formulated in the form which is convenient for its quantum reformulation. Typical examples are studied which may help to formulate the quantum method of the inverse problem. Examples are considered for interaction with both attraction and repulsion at a final density. The sine-Gordon model and the XYZ model from the quantum theory of magnetics are examined in short. It is noted that all the achievements of the one-dimensional mathematical physics as applied to exactly solvable quantum models may be put to an extent within the framework of the quantum method of the inverse problem. Unsolved questions are enumerated and perspectives of applying the inverse problem method are shown

  1. Quantum theory, groups and representations an introduction

    CERN Document Server

    Woit, Peter

    2017-01-01

    This text systematically presents the basics of quantum mechanics, emphasizing the role of Lie groups, Lie algebras, and their unitary representations. The mathematical structure of the subject is brought to the fore, intentionally avoiding significant overlap with material from standard physics courses in quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. The level of presentation is attractive to mathematics students looking to learn about both quantum mechanics and representation theory, while also appealing to physics students who would like to know more about the mathematics underlying the subject. This text showcases the numerous differences between typical mathematical and physical treatments of the subject. The latter portions of the book focus on central mathematical objects that occur in the Standard Model of particle physics, underlining the deep and intimate connections between mathematics and the physical world. While an elementary physics course of some kind would be helpful to the reader, no specific ...

  2. Quantum information theory with Gaussian systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krueger, O.

    2006-04-06

    This thesis applies ideas and concepts from quantum information theory to systems of continuous-variables such as the quantum harmonic oscillator. The focus is on three topics: the cloning of coherent states, Gaussian quantum cellular automata and Gaussian private channels. Cloning was investigated both for finite-dimensional and for continuous-variable systems. We construct a private quantum channel for the sequential encryption of coherent states with a classical key, where the key elements have finite precision. For the case of independent one-mode input states, we explicitly estimate this precision, i.e. the number of key bits needed per input state, in terms of these parameters. (orig.)

  3. Quantum information theory with Gaussian systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krueger, O.

    2006-01-01

    This thesis applies ideas and concepts from quantum information theory to systems of continuous-variables such as the quantum harmonic oscillator. The focus is on three topics: the cloning of coherent states, Gaussian quantum cellular automata and Gaussian private channels. Cloning was investigated both for finite-dimensional and for continuous-variable systems. We construct a private quantum channel for the sequential encryption of coherent states with a classical key, where the key elements have finite precision. For the case of independent one-mode input states, we explicitly estimate this precision, i.e. the number of key bits needed per input state, in terms of these parameters. (orig.)

  4. Some relations of parameters in quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishikawa, K.

    1986-01-01

    Two schemes of parameter relations, linear relation and non-linear relation are discussed. The linear relation of coupling constants is derived directly from an underlying symmetry of the classical theory and is preserved usually in the quantum theory. The non-linear relation is not derived by a same manner but is derived by more involved way which is intrinsically connected with quantum theory. An underlying symmetry which leads the linear relation is shown to be essential in the non-linear relation too. Some extension is also discussed

  5. Beyond WKB quantum corrections to Hamilton-Jacobi theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jurisch, Alexander

    2007-01-01

    In this paper, we develop quantum mechanics of quasi-one-dimensional systems upon the framework of the quantum-mechanical Hamilton-Jacobi theory. We will show that the Schroedinger point of view and the Hamilton-Jacobi point of view are fully equivalent in their description of physical systems, but differ in their descriptive manner. As a main result of this, a wavefunction in Hamilton-Jacobi theory can be decomposed into travelling waves in any point in space, not only asymptotically. Using the quasi-linearization technique, we derive quantum correction functions in every order of h-bar. The quantum correction functions will remove the turning-point singularity that plagues the WKB-series expansion already in zeroth order and thus provide an extremely good approximation to the full solution of the Schroedinger equation. In the language of quantum action it is also possible to elegantly solve the connection problem without asymptotic approximations. The use of quantum action further allows us to derive an equation by which the Maslov index is directly calculable without any approximations. Stationary quantum trajectories will also be considered and thoroughly discussed

  6. New gravitational forces from quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nieto, M.M.; Goldman, T.; Hughes, R.J.

    1988-01-01

    When a classical theory is quantized, new physical effects result. The prototypical example is the Lamb Shift of quantum electrodynamics. Even though this phenomenon could be parametrized by the ''Uehling Potential,'' it was always realized that it was a quantum aspect of electromagnetism, not a ''new force'' of nature. So, too, with theories of quantum gravity. Generically they predict that there will be spin-1 (graviphoton) and spin-0 (graviscalar) partners of the spin-2 graviton. At some level, these partners will generate new effects. Among them are (1) non-Newtonian gravitational forces and (2) substance dependance (violation of the Principle of Equivalence). We discuss these ideas in the context of recent experiments. (Experiments usually test only one of the above effects, which could be distinct.) We contrast these ideas with the alternative point of view, that there actually may be a ''fifth force'' of nature. 20 refs

  7. A critical review on some aspects of the theory of fission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pauli, H.C.

    1981-01-01

    The lecture notes display briefly some of the facets which eventually will be part of a theory for the fission process. They cover some important aspects of our present understanding in a qualitative fashion and complement the existing review articles rather than replacing them. The notes include sections on (I) The Bohr-Wheeler Fission of a Drop, (II) The Strutinsky-Swiatecki Quantum Droplet, (III) The Question of Inertias of a Fluid in Motion, (IV) Some Selected Aspects of the Distributions of Mass and Kinetic Energy, and (V) Possible Relations Between the Phenomenological Models and Self-Consistent Field Approximations. (author)

  8. Many-Body Quantum Theory in Condensed Matter Physics-An Introduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Logan, D E

    2005-01-01

    This is undoubtedly an ambitious book. It aims to provide a wide ranging, yet self-contained and pedagogical introduction to techniques of quantum many-body theory in condensed matter physics, without losing mathematical 'rigor' (which I hope means rigour), and with an eye on physical insight, motivation and application. The authors certainly bring plenty of experience to the task, the book having grown out of their graduate lectures at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen over a five year period, with the feedback and refinement this presumably brings. The book is also of course ambitious in another sense, for it competes in the tight market of general graduate/advanced undergraduate texts on many-particle physics. Prospective punters will thus want reasons to prefer it to, or at least give it space beside, well established texts in the field. Subject-wise, the book is a good mix of the ancient and modern, the standard and less so. Obligatory chapters deal with the formal cornerstones of many-body theory, from second quantization, time-dependence in quantum mechanics and linear response theory, to Green's function and Feynman diagrams. Traditional topics are well covered, including two chapters on the electron gas, chapters on phonons and electron-phonon coupling, and a concise account of superconductivity (confined, no doubt judiciously, to the conventional BCS case). Less mandatory, albeit conceptually vital, subjects are also aired. These include a chapter on Fermi liquid theory, from both semi-classical and microscopic perspectives, and a freestanding account of one-dimensional electron gases and Luttinger liquids which, given the enormity of the topic, is about as concise as it could be without sacrificing clarity. Quite naturally, the authors' own interests also influence the choice of material covered. A persistent theme, which brings a healthy topicality to the book, is the area of transport in mesoscopic systems or nanostructures. Two chapters, some

  9. Quantum-classical correspondence in the vicinity of periodic orbits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumari, Meenu; Ghose, Shohini

    2018-05-01

    Quantum-classical correspondence in chaotic systems is a long-standing problem. We describe a method to quantify Bohr's correspondence principle and calculate the size of quantum numbers for which we can expect to observe quantum-classical correspondence near periodic orbits of Floquet systems. Our method shows how the stability of classical periodic orbits affects quantum dynamics. We demonstrate our method by analyzing quantum-classical correspondence in the quantum kicked top (QKT), which exhibits both regular and chaotic behavior. We use our correspondence conditions to identify signatures of classical bifurcations even in a deep quantum regime. Our method can be used to explain the breakdown of quantum-classical correspondence in chaotic systems.

  10. Perturbative quantum field theory in the framework of the fermionic projector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finster, Felix

    2014-01-01

    We give a microscopic derivation of perturbative quantum field theory, taking causal fermion systems and the framework of the fermionic projector as the starting point. The resulting quantum field theory agrees with standard quantum field theory on the tree level and reproduces all bosonic loop diagrams. The fermion loops are described in a different formalism in which no ultraviolet divergences occur

  11. Perturbative Quantum Field Theory in the Framework of the Fermionic Projector

    OpenAIRE

    Finster, Felix

    2013-01-01

    We give a microscopic derivation of perturbative quantum field theory, taking causal fermion systems and the framework of the fermionic projector as the starting point. The resulting quantum field theory agrees with standard quantum field theory on the tree level and reproduces all bosonic loop diagrams. The fermion loops are described in a different formalism in which no ultraviolet divergences occur.

  12. Perturbative quantum field theory in the framework of the fermionic projector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Finster, Felix, E-mail: finster@ur.de [Fakultät für Mathematik, Universität Regensburg, D-93040 Regensburg (Germany)

    2014-04-15

    We give a microscopic derivation of perturbative quantum field theory, taking causal fermion systems and the framework of the fermionic projector as the starting point. The resulting quantum field theory agrees with standard quantum field theory on the tree level and reproduces all bosonic loop diagrams. The fermion loops are described in a different formalism in which no ultraviolet divergences occur.

  13. Perturbative quantum field theory in the framework of the fermionic projector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finster, Felix

    2014-04-01

    We give a microscopic derivation of perturbative quantum field theory, taking causal fermion systems and the framework of the fermionic projector as the starting point. The resulting quantum field theory agrees with standard quantum field theory on the tree level and reproduces all bosonic loop diagrams. The fermion loops are described in a different formalism in which no ultraviolet divergences occur.

  14. Noninvasive measurement of mean alveolar carbon dioxide tension and Bohr's dead space during tidal breathing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koulouris, N G; Latsi, P; Dimitroulis, J; Jordanoglou, B; Gaga, M; Jordanoglou, J

    2001-06-01

    The lack of methodology for measuring the alveolar carbon dioxide tension (PA,CO2) has forced investigators to make several assumptions, such as that PA,CO2 is equal to end-tidal (PET,CO2) and arterial CO2 tension (Pa,CO2). The present study measured the mean PA,CO2 and Bohr's dead space ratio (Bohr's dead space/tidal volume (VD,Bohr/VT)) during tidal breathing. The method used is a new, simple and noninvasive technique, based on the analysis of the expired CO2 volume per breath (VCO2) versus the exhaled VT. This curve was analysed in 21 normal, healthy subjects and 35 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients breathing tidally through a mouthpiece apparatus in the sitting position. It is shown that: 1) PA,CO2 is similar to Pa,CO2 in normal subjects, whilst it is significantly lower than Pa,CO2 in COPD patients; 2) PA,CO2 is significantly higher than PET,CO2 in all subjects, especially in COPD patients; 3) VD,Bohr/VT is increased in COPD patients as compared to normal subjects; and 4) VD,Bohr/VT is lower than the "physiological" dead space ratio (VD,phys/VT) in COPD patients. It is concluded that the expired carbon dioxide versus tidal volume curve is a useful tool for research and clinical work, because it permits the noninvasive and accurate measurement of Bohr's dead space and mean alveolar carbon dioxide tension accurately during spontaneous breathing.

  15. Schroedinger representation in quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luescher, M.

    1985-01-01

    Until recently, the Schroedinger representation in quantum field theory had not received much attention, even more so because there were reasons to believe that in the presence of interactions it did not exist in a mathematically well-defined sense. When Symanzik set out to solve this problem, he was motivated by a special 2-dimensional case, the relativistic string model, in which the Schroedinger wave functionals are the primary objects of physical interest. Also, he knew that if it were possible to demonstrate the existence of the Schroedinger representation, the (then unproven) ultraviolet finiteness of the Casimir force in renormalizable quantum field theories would probably follow. (orig./HSI)

  16. Cosmology from group field theory formalism for quantum gravity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gielen, Steffen; Oriti, Daniele; Sindoni, Lorenzo

    2013-07-19

    We identify a class of condensate states in the group field theory (GFT) formulation of quantum gravity that can be interpreted as macroscopic homogeneous spatial geometries. We then extract the dynamics of such condensate states directly from the fundamental quantum GFT dynamics, following the procedure used in ordinary quantum fluids. The effective dynamics is a nonlinear and nonlocal extension of quantum cosmology. We also show that any GFT model with a kinetic term of Laplacian type gives rise, in a semiclassical (WKB) approximation and in the isotropic case, to a modified Friedmann equation. This is the first concrete, general procedure for extracting an effective cosmological dynamics directly from a fundamental theory of quantum geometry.

  17. Introduction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bub, Jeffrey; Fuchs, Christopher A.

    The great debate between Einstein and Bohr on the interpretation of quantum mechanics culminated with the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paper in 1935, "Can quantum-mechanical description of physical reality be considered complete?" (Einstein, Podolsky, & Rosen, 1935, and Bohr's reply, 1935). EPR showed that composite quantum systems, consisting of widely separated subsystems, could exist in certain quantum states that they thought spelled trouble for the Copenhagen interpretation. Specifically, they argued that for such states, the correlations between the outcomes of measurements on the subsystems were incompatible with the assumption that the quantum state was a complete description of the system. They concluded that quantum mechanics was an incomplete theory-that the quantum state could not be the whole story about a system.

  18. From Einstein's theorem to Bell's theorem: a history of quantum non-locality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiseman, H. M.

    2006-04-01

    In this Einstein Year of Physics it seems appropriate to look at an important aspect of Einstein's work that is often down-played: his contribution to the debate on the interpretation of quantum mechanics. Contrary to physics ‘folklore’, Bohr had no defence against Einstein's 1935 attack (the EPR paper) on the claimed completeness of orthodox quantum mechanics. I suggest that Einstein's argument, as stated most clearly in 1946, could justly be called Einstein's reality locality completeness theorem, since it proves that one of these three must be false. Einstein's instinct was that completeness of orthodox quantum mechanics was the falsehood, but he failed in his quest to find a more complete theory that respected reality and locality. Einstein's theorem, and possibly Einstein's failure, inspired John Bell in 1964 to prove his reality locality theorem. This strengthened Einstein's theorem (but showed the futility of his quest) by demonstrating that either reality or locality is a falsehood. This revealed the full non-locality of the quantum world for the first time.

  19. Statistical quasi-particle theory for open quantum systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hou-Dao; Xu, Rui-Xue; Zheng, Xiao; Yan, YiJing

    2018-04-01

    This paper presents a comprehensive account on the recently developed dissipaton-equation-of-motion (DEOM) theory. This is a statistical quasi-particle theory for quantum dissipative dynamics. It accurately describes the influence of bulk environments, with a few number of quasi-particles, the dissipatons. The novel dissipaton algebra is then followed, which readily bridges the Schrödinger equation to the DEOM theory. As a fundamental theory of quantum mechanics in open systems, DEOM characterizes both the stationary and dynamic properties of system-and-bath interferences. It treats not only the quantum dissipative systems of primary interest, but also the hybrid environment dynamics that could be experimentally measurable. Examples are the linear or nonlinear Fano interferences and the Herzberg-Teller vibronic couplings in optical spectroscopies. This review covers the DEOM construction, the underlying dissipaton algebra and theorems, the physical meanings of dynamical variables, the possible identifications of dissipatons, and some recent advancements in efficient DEOM evaluations on various problems. The relations of the present theory to other nonperturbative methods are also critically presented.

  20. Topics in Theories of Quantum Gravity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perelstein, M.

    2005-04-05

    In this thesis, the author addresses several issues involving gravity. The first half of the thesis is devoted to studying quantum properties of Einstein gravity and its supersymmetric extensions in the perturbative regime. String theory suggests that perturbative scattering amplitudes in the theories of gravity are related to the amplitudes in gauge theories. This connection has been studied at classical (tree) level by Kawai, Lewellen and Tye. Here, they will explore the relationship between gravity and gauge theory at quantum (loop) level. This relationship, together with the cut-based approach to computing loop amplitudes, allow us to obtain new non-trivial results for quantum gravity. IN particular, they present two infinite sequences of one-loop n-graviton scattering amplitudes: the maximally helicity violating amplitudes in N = 8 supergravity, and the ''all-plus'' helicity amplitudes in Einstein gravity with any minimally coupled massless matter content. The results for n {le} 6 will be obtained by an explicit calculation, while those for n > 6 is inferred from the soft and collinear properties of the amplitudes. They also present an explicit expression for the two-loop contribution to the four-particle scattering amplitude in N = 8 supergravity, and observe a simple relation between this result and its counterpart in N = 4 super-Yang-Mills theory. Furthermore, the simple structure of the two-particle unitarity cuts in these theories suggests that similar relations exist to all loop orders. If this is the case, the first ultraviolet divergence in N = 8 supergravity should appear at five loops, contrary to the earlier expectation of a three-loop counterterm.