arXiv subjects

Jürg Fröhlich

Publications and source records attributed to Jürg Fröhlich.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The quantum mechanics of experiments

This note starts with a recapitulation of what people call the ``Measurement Problem'' of Quantum Mechanics (QM). The dissipative nature of the quantum-mechanical time-evolution of averages of states over large ensembles of identical isolated systems consisting of matter interacting with the radiation field is discussed and shown to correspond to a stochastic time-evolution of states of individual systems. The importance of dissipation for the successful completion of measurements is highlighted. To conclude, a solution of the ``Measurement Problem'' is sketched in an idealized model of a double-slit experiment.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Interacting loop ensembles and Bose gases

We study interacting Bose gases in thermal equilibrium on a lattice. We establish convergence of the grand canonical Gibbs states of such gases to their mean-field (classical field) and large-mass (classical particle) limits. The former is a classical field theory for a complex scalar field with quartic self-interaction. The latter is a classical theory of point particles with two-body interactions. Our analysis is based on representations in terms of ensembles of interacting random loops, the Ginibre loop ensemble for Bose gases and the Symanzik loop ensemble for classical scalar field theories. For small enough interactions, our results also hold in infinite volume.

math-ph↗

arXiv2026

Chern-Simons theory in mathematics, condensed matter theory and cosmology

Various applications of Chern-Simons theory in algebraic topology, in particular knot theory, condensed matter physics and cosmology are reviewed. Special attention is paid to appearances of Chern-Simons actions in the theory of the (integer and fractional) quantum Hall effect. A mechanism related to five-dimensional abelian Chern-Simons theory that may be at the origin of the observed intergalactic magnetic fields in the universe is described.

math-ph↗

arXiv2025

On the Dark-Energy Enigma

We present a model that offers an explanation for the presence of (Dark Matter and) Dark Energy in the universe. A key idea is to express the volume form of the Lorentzian metric on space-time in terms of a positive function of a new scalar field multiplying a certain four-form given by the wedge product of the differential of the mimetic scalar field and a certain closed three-form. An ansatz for this three-form related to one commonly used to determine the winding number of a map from a three-dimensional hypersurface to a three-sphere is discussed. An action functional depending on the space-time metric, the new scalar field, the mimetic scalar and the three-form is proposed, and the field equations are derived. Special solutions of these equations for a Friedmann-Lemaître universe are presented.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Cosmological Magnetic Fields from Ultralight Dark Matter

We propose a mechanism for the generation of magnetic fields on cosmological scales that is operative after recombination. An essential ingredient is an instability (of parametric resonance type) of the electromagnetic field driven by an oscillating pseudo-scalar dark matter field, $ϕ$, that is coupled to the electromagnetic field tensor via a $ϕF \wedge F$ term in the Lagrangian of axion-electrodynamics. We find that magnetic fields larger than the observational lower bounds can be generated soon after recombination on scales of $1 {\rm{Mpc}}$.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Low energy spectrum of the XXZ model coupled to a magnetic field

For a class of Hamiltonians of $XXZ$ spin chains in a uniform external magnetic field that are small quantum perturbations of an Ising Hamiltonian, it is shown that the spectral gap above the ground-state energy remains strictly positive when the perturbation is turned on, uniformly in the length of the chain. This result is proven for perturbations of both the ferromagnetic and the antiferromagnetic Ising Hamiltonian. In the antiferromagnetic case, the external magnetic field is required to be small. For a chain of an even number of sites, the two-fold degenerate ground-state energy of the unperturbed antiferromagnetic Hamiltonian may split into two energy levels separated by a very small gap. These results are proven by using a new, quite subtle refinement of a method developed in earlier work and used to iteratively block-diagonalize Hamiltonians of systems confined to ever larger subsets of a lattice by using strictly local unitary conjugations. The new method developed in this paper provides complete control of boundary effects on the low-energy spectrum of perturbed Ising chains uniformly in their length.

math-ph↗

arXiv2024

Boundary effects and the stability of the low energy spectrum of the AKLT model

In this paper we study the low-lying spectrum of the AKLT model perturbed by small, finite-range potentials and with open boundary conditions imposed at the edges of the chain. Our analysis is based on the \emph{local, iterative Lie Schwinger block-diagonalization method} which allows us to control small interaction terms localized near the boundary of the chain that are responsible for the possible splitting of the ground-state energy of the AKLT Hamiltonian into energy levels separated by small gaps. This improves earlier results concerning the persistence of the so called \emph{bulk} gap in these models, besides illustrating the power of our general methods in a non-trivial application.

math-ph↗

arXiv2024

A Theory of Quantum Jumps

Using the principles of the ETH - Approach to Quantum Mechanics we study fluorescence and the phenomenon of ``quantum jumps'' in idealized models of atoms coupled to the quantized electromagnetic field. In a limiting regime where the orbital motion of the atoms is neglected and the velocity of light tends to infinity we derive explicit non-linear stochastic differential equations describing the effective time evolution of states of individual atoms. These equations give rise to a measure on state-trajectories with quantum jumps which is a quantum-mechanical analogue of the Wiener measure of Brownian motion. Our results amount to a derivation of the fundamental randomness in the quantum-mechanical description of microscopic systems from basic principles in the context of some simple models.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

A Completion of Quantum Mechanics

A proposal of how to complete non-relativistic quantum mechanics to a physically meaningful, mathematically precise and logically coherent theory is reviewed. Our proposal leads to a general, non-linear stochastic law for the time-evolution of states of individual physical systems. An application of the general formalism to the quantum theory of fluorescence of an atom coupled to the radiation field is sketched. Some remarks on relativistic quantum theory conclude our review.

math-ph↗

arXiv2023

Two Results in the Quantum Theory of Measurements

Two theorems with applications to the quantum theory of measurements are stated and proven. The first one clarifies and amends von Neumann's Measurement Postulate used in the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. The second one clarifies the relationship between ``events'' and ``measurements'' and the meaning of measurements in the $ETH$-Approach to quantum mechanics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Phase Transitions, Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking, and Goldstone's Theorem

Some important rigorous results on phase transitions accompanied by the spontaneous breaking of symmetries in statistical mechanics and relativistic quantum field theory are reviewed. Basic ideas, mainly inspired by quantum field theory, underlying the proofs of some of these results are sketched. The Goldstone theorem is proven, and the Mermin-Wagner-Hohenberg theorem concerning the absence of continuous symmetry breaking in one and two dimensions is recalled. Comments concerning rigorous results on the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in the two-dimensional classical XY model are made.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2023

The Importance of Subcellular Structures to the Modeling of Biological Cells in the Context of Computational Bioelectromagnetics Simulations

Numerical investigation of the interaction of electromagnetic fields with eukaryotic cells requires specifically adapted computer models. Virtual microdosimetry, used to investigate exposure, requires volumetric cell models, which are numerically challenging. For this reason, a method is presented here to determine the current and power densities occurring in single cells and their distinct compartments in a spatially accurate manner as a first step towards multicellular models within the microstructure of tissue layers. To achieve this, 3D models of the electromagnetic exposure of generic eukaryotic cells of different shape (i.e. spherical and ellipsoidal) and internal complexity (i.e. different organelles) are performed in a virtual, FEM-based capacitor experiment in the frequency range from 10 Hz to 100 GHz. In this context, the spectral response of the current and power distribution within the cell compartments is investigated and any effects that occur are attributed either to the dispersive material properties of these compartments or to the geometric characteristics of the cell model investigated in each case. In these investigations, the cell is represented as an anisotropic body with an internal distributed membrane system of low conductivity that mimics the endoplasmic reticulum in a simplified manner. This will be used to determine which details of the cell interior need to be modeled, how the electric field and the current density will be distributed in this region, and where the electromagnetic energy is absorbed in the microstructure regarding electromagnetic microdosimetry. Results show that for 5G frequencies, membranes make a significant contribution to the absorption losses.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2023

Gauge Invariance and Anomalies in Condensed Matter Physics

This paper begins with a summary of a powerful formalism for the study of electronic states in condensed matter physics called "Gauge Theory of States/Phases of Matter." The chiral anomaly, which plays quite a prominent role in that formalism, is recalled. I then sketch an application of the chiral anomaly in 1+1 dimensions to quantum wires. Subsequently, some elements of the quantum Hall effect in two-dimensional (2D) gapped ("incompressible") electron liquids are reviewed. In particular, I discuss the role of anomalous chiral edge currents and of anomaly inflow in 2D gapped electron liquids with explicitly or spontaneously broken time reversal, i.e., in Hall- and Chern insulators. The topological Chern-Simons action yielding the transport equations valid in the bulk of such systems and the associated anomalous edge action are derived. The results of a general classification of "abelian" Hall insulators are outlined. After some remarks on induced Chern-Simons actions, I sketch results on certain 2D chiral photonic wave guides. I then continue with an analysis of chiral edge spin-currents and the bulk response equations in time-reversal invariant 2D topological insulators of electron gases with spin-orbit interactions. The "chiral magnetic effect" in 3D systems and axion-electrodynamics are reviewed next. This prepares the ground for an outline of a general theory of 3D topological insulators, including "axionic insulators". Some remarks on Weyl semi-metals, which exhibit the chiral magnetic effect, and on Mott transitions in 3D systems with dynamical axion-like degrees of freedom conclude this review.}

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

The Euclidean $ϕ^4_2$ theory as a limit of an interacting Bose gas

We prove that the complex Euclidean field theory with local quartic self-interaction in two dimensions arises as a limit of an interacting Bose gas at positive temperature, when the density of the gas becomes large and the range of the interaction becomes small. The field theory is supported on distributions of negative regularity, which requires a renormalization by divergent mass and energy counterterms. We obtain convergence of the relative partition function and uniform convergence of the renormalized reduced density matrices. The proof is based on three main ingredients: (a) a quantitative analysis of the infinite-dimensional saddle point argument for the functional integral introduced in [32] using continuity properties of Brownian paths, (b) a Nelson-type estimate for a general nonlocal field theory in two dimensions, and (c) repeated Gaussian integration by parts in field space to obtain uniform control on the renormalized correlation functions. As a byproduct of our proof, in two and three dimensions we also extend the results on the mean-field limit from [32,56] to unbounded interaction potentials satisfying the optimal integrability conditions proposed by Bourgain [13].

math-ph↗

arXiv2022

On the Evolution of States in a Quantum-Mechanical Model of Experiments

The postulates of von Neumann and Lüders concerning measurements in quantum mechanics are discussed and criticized in the context of a simple model proposed by Gisin. The main purpose of our paper is to analyze some mathematical aspects of that model and to draw some general lessons on the so-called ``measurement problem'' in quantum mechanics pointing towards the need to introduce general principles that determine the law for the stochastic time evolution of states of individual physical systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

After the Dark Ages

After recalling some puzzles in cosmology and briefly reviewing the Friedmann-Lemaître cosmos a simple unified model of the ``Dark Sector'' is described. This model involves a scalar field and a pseudo-scalar axion field that give rise to Dark Energy in the form of ``quintessence'' and to ``fuzzy'' Dark Matter, respectively. Predictions of the model concerning the late-time evolution of the Universe and possible implications for the problem of the observed Matter-Antimatter Asymmetry in the Universe are sketched.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

The appearance of particle tracks in detectors -- II: the semi-classical realm

The appearance of tracks, close to classical orbits, left by charged quantum particles propagating inside a detector, such as a cavity periodically illuminated by light pulses, is studied for a family of idealized models. In the semi-classical regime, which is reached when one considers highly energetic particles, we present a detailed, mathematically rigorous analysis of this phenomenon. If the Hamiltonian of the particles is quadratic in position- and momentum operators, as in the examples of a freely moving particle or a particle in a homogeneous external magnetic field, we show how symmetries, such as spherical symmetry, of the initial state of a particle are broken by tracks consisting of infinitely many approximately measured particle positions and how, in the classical limit, the initial position and velocity of a classical particle trajectory can be reconstructed from the observed particle track.

math-ph↗

arXiv2022

Irreversibility and the Arrow of Time

Within the general formalism of quantum theory irreversibility and the arrow of time in the evolution of various physical systems are studied. Irreversible behavior often manifests itself in the guise of entropy production. This motivates me to begin this paper with a brief review of quantum-mechanical entropy, a subject that Elliott Lieb has made outstanding contributions to, followed by an enumeration of examples of irreversible behavior and of an arrow of time analyzed in later sections. Subsequently, a derivation of the laws of thermodynamics from (quantum) statistical mechanics, and, in particular, of the Second Law of thermodynamics, in the forms given to it by Clausius and Carnot, is presented. In a third part, results on diffusive (Brownian) motion of a quantum particle interacting with a quasi-free quantum-mechanical heat bath are reviewed. This is followed by an outline of a theory of friction by emission of Cherenkov radiation of sound waves in a system consisting of a particle moving through a Bose- Einstein condensate and interacting with it. In what may be the most important section of this paper, the fundamental arrow of time inherent in Quantum Mechanics is discussed.

quant-ph↗