Modular localization and the holistic structure of causal quantum theory, a historical perspective
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19501709 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bert Schroer (Freie Universität Berlin, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 109-147 |
| Publication date | 2015-02-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1355-2198 • E-ISSN: 1879-2502 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.shpsb.2014.05.002 |
| OpenAlex | W2038055696 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 59 |
Recent insights into the conceptual structure of localization in QFT (modular localization) led to clarifications of old unsolved problems. The oldest one is the Einstein–Jordan conundrum which led Jordan in 1925 to the discovery of quantum field theory. This comparison of fluctuations in subsystems of heat bath systems (Einstein) with those resulting from the restriction of the QFT vacuum state to an open subvolume (Jordan) leads to a perfect analogy; the globally pure vacuum state becomes upon local restriction a strongly impure KMS state. This phenomenon of localization-caused thermal behavior as well as the vacuum-polarization clouds at the causal boundary of the localization region places localization in QFT into a sharp contrast with quantum mechanics and justifies the attribute “holstic”. In fact it positions the E–J Gedankenexperiment into the same conceptual category as the cosmological constant problem and the Unruh Gedankenexperiment. The holistic structure of QFT resulting from “modular localization” also leads to a revision of the conceptual origin of the crucial crossing property which entered particle theory at the time of the bootstrap S-matrix approach but suffered from incorrect use in the S-matrix settings of the dual model and string theory. The new holistic point of view, which strengthens the autonomous aspect of QFT, also comes with new messages for gauge theory by exposing the clash between Hilbert space structure and localization and presenting alternative solutions based on the use of stringlocal fields in Hilbert space. Among other things this leads to a reformulation of the Englert–Higgs symmetry breaking mechanism
Causal structure · Einstein · Hilbert space · Physics · Quantum · Quantum field theory · Quantum mechanics · Theoretical physics · Unruh effect · Vacuum state · Cosmology and Gravitation Theories · Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories · Quantum Mechanics and Applications
| Highly cited | No |
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