arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Robert Oeckl.
We provide a new method to construct the S-matrix in quantum field theory. This method implements crossing symmetry manifestly by erasing the a priori distinction between in- and out-states. It allows the description of processes where the interaction weakens with distance in space, but remains strong in the center at all times. It should also be applicable to certain spacetimes where the conventional method fails due to lack of temporal asymptotic states.
We construct a new type of S-matrix in quantum field theory using the general boundary formulation. In contrast to the usual S-matrix the space of free asymptotic states is located at spatial rather than at temporal infinity. Hence, the new S-matrix applies to situations where interactions may remain important at all times, but become negligible with distance. We show that the new S-matrix is equivalent to the usual one in situations where both apply. This equivalence is mediated by an isomorphism between the respective asymptotic state spaces that we construct. We introduce coherent states that allow us to obtain explicit expressions for the new S-matrix. In our formalism crossing symmetry becomes a manifest rather than a derived feature of the S-matrix.
The solution of quantum Yang-Mills theory on arbitrary compact two-manifolds is well known. We bring this solution into a TQFT-like form and extend it to include corners. Our formulation is based on an axiomatic system that we hope is flexible enough to capture actual quantum field theories also in higher dimensions. We motivate this axiomatic system from a formal Schroedinger-Feynman quantization procedure. We also discuss the physical meaning of unitarity, the concept of vacuum, (partial) Wilson loops and non-orientable surfaces.
We use the Hopf algebra structure of the time-ordered algebra of field operators to generate all connected weighted Feynman graphs in a recursive and efficient manner. The algebraic representation of the graphs is such that they can be evaluated directly as contributions to the connected n-point functions. The recursion proceeds by loop order and vertex number.
We use a coproduct on the time-ordered algebra of field operators to derive simple relations between complete, connected and 1-particle irreducible n-point functions. Compared to traditional functional methods our approach is much more intrinsic and leads to efficient algorithms suitable for concrete computations. It may also be used to efficiently perform tree level computations.
We show that the real massive Klein-Gordon theory admits a description in terms of states on various timelike hypersurfaces and amplitudes associated to regions bounded by them. This realizes crucial elements of the general boundary framework for quantum field theory. The hypersurfaces considered are hyperplanes on the one hand and timelike hypercylinders on the other hand. The latter lead to the first explicit examples of amplitudes associated with finite regions of space, and admit no standard description in terms of ``initial'' and ``final'' states. We demonstrate a generalized probability interpretation in this example, going beyond the applicability of standard quantum mechanics.
We present an implementation of Wilson's renormalization group and a continuum limit tailored for loop quantization. The dynamics of loop quantized theories is constructed as a continuum limit of dynamics of effective theories. After presenting the general formalism we show as first explicit example the 2d Ising field theory. It is an interacting relativistic quantum field theory with local degrees of freedom quantized by loop quantization techniques.
We investigate the possibility of defining states on timelike hypersurfaces in quantum field theory. To this end we consider hyperplanes in the real massive Klein-Gordon theory using the Schroedinger representation. We find a well defined vacuum wave functional, existing on any hyperplane, with the remarkable property that it changes smoothly even under Euclidean rotation through the light-cone. Moreover, particles on timelike hyperplanes exist and occur in two variants, incoming and outgoing, distinguished by the sign of the energy. Multi-particle wave functionals take a form similar to those on spacelike hypersurfaces. The role of unitarity and the inner product is discussed.
We exhibit a Hopf superalgebra structure of the algebra of field operators of quantum field theory (QFT) with the normal product. Based on this we construct the operator product and the time-ordered product as a twist deformation in the sense of Drinfeld. Our approach yields formulas for (perturbative) products and expectation values that allow for a significant enhancement in computational efficiency as compared to traditional methods. Employing Hopf algebra cohomology sheds new light on the structure of QFT and allows the extension to interacting (not necessarily perturbative) QFT. We give a reconstruction theorem for time-ordered products in the spirit of Streater and Wightman and recover the distinction between free and interacting theory from a property of the underlying cocycle. We also demonstrate how non-trivial vacua are described in our approach solving a problem in quantum chemistry.
We give an introductory account to the renormalization of models without metric background. We sketch the application to certain discrete models of quantum gravity such as spin foam models.
We present an approach to quantum gravity based on the general boundary formulation of quantum mechanics, path integral quantization, spin foam models and renormalization.
I propose to formalize quantum theories as topological quantum field theories in a generalized sense, associating state spaces with boundaries of arbitrary (and possibly finite) regions of space-time. I further propose to obtain such ``general boundary'' quantum theories through a generalized path integral quantization. I show how both, non-relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum field theory can be given a ``general boundary'' formulation. Surprisingly, even in the non-relativistic case, features normally associated with quantum field theory emerge from consistency conditions. This includes states with arbitrary particle number and pair creation. I also note how three dimensional quantum gravity is an example for a realization of both proposals and suggest to apply them to four dimensional quantum gravity.
I review basic principles of the quantum mechanical measurement process in view of their implications for a quantum theory of general relativity. It turns out that a clock as an external classical device associated with the observer plays an essential role. This leads me to postulate a ``principle of the integrity of the observer''. It essentially requires the observer to be part of a classical domain connected throughout the measurement process. Mathematically this naturally leads to a formulation of quantum mechanics as a kind of topological quantum field theory. Significantly, quantities with a direct interpretation in terms of a measurement process are associated only with amplitudes for connected boundaries of compact regions of space-time. I discuss some implications of my proposal such as in-out duality for states, delocalization of the ``collapse of the wave function'' and locality of the description. Differences to existing approaches to quantum gravity are also highlighted.
We consider a local formalism in quantum field theory, in which no reference is made to infinitely extended spacial surfaces, infinite past or infinite future. This can be obtained in terms of a functional W[f,S] of the field f on a closed 3d surface S that bounds a finite region R of Minkowski spacetime. The dependence of W on S is governed by a local covariant generalization of the Schroedinger equation. Particles' scattering amplitudes that describe experiments conducted in the finite region R --the lab during a finite time-- can be expressed in terms of W. The dependence of W on the geometry of S expresses the dependence of the transition amplitudes on the relative location of the particle detectors. In a gravitational theory, background independence implies that W is independent from S. However, the detectors' relative location is still coded in the argument of W, because the geometry of the boundary surface is determined by the boundary value f of the gravitational field. This observation clarifies the physical meaning of the functional W defined by non perturbative formulations of quantum gravity, such as the spinfoam formalism. In particular, it suggests a way to derive particles' scattering amplitudes from a spinfoam model. In particular, we discuss the notion of vacuum in a generally covariant context. We distinguish the nonperturbative vacuum |0_S>, which codes the dynamics, from the Minkowski vacuum |0_M>, which is the state with no particles and is recovered by taking appropriate large values of the boundary metric. We derive a relation between the two vacuum states. We propose an explicit expression for computing the Minkowski vacuum from a spinfoam model.
We show how super BF theory in any dimension can be quantized as a spin foam model, generalizing the situation for ordinary BF theory. This is a first step toward quantizing supergravity theories. We investigate in particular 3-dimensional (p=1,q=1) supergravity which we quantize exactly. We obtain a super-Ponzano-Regge model with gauge group OSp(1|2). A main motivation for our approach is the implementation of fermionic degrees of freedom in spin foam models. Indeed, we propose a description of the fermionic degrees of freedom in our model. Complementing the path integral approach we also discuss aspects of a canonical quantization in the spirit of loop quantum gravity. Finally, we comment on 2+1-dimensional quantum supergravity and the inclusion of a cosmological constant.
Conventional renormalization methods in statistical physics and lattice quantum field theory assume a flat metric background. We outline here a generalization of such methods to models on discretized spaces without metric background. Cellular decompositions play the role of discretizations. The group of scale transformations is replaced by the groupoid of changes of cellular decompositions. We introduce cellular moves which generate this groupoid and allow to define a renormalization groupoid flow. We proceed to test our approach on several models. Quantum BF theory is the simplest example as it is almost topological and the renormalization almost trivial. More interesting is generalized lattice gauge theory for which a qualitative picture of the renormalization groupoid flow can be given. This is confirmed by the exact renormalization in dimension two. A main motivation for our approach are discrete models of quantum gravity. We investigate both the Reisenberger and the Barrett-Crane spin foam model in view of their amenability to a renormalization treatment. In the second case a lack of tunable local parameters prompts us to introduce a new model. For the Reisenberger and the new model we discuss qualitative aspects of the renormalization groupoid flow. In both cases quantum BF theory is the UV fixed point.
The quantum field algebra of real scalar fields is shown to be an example of infinite dimensional quantum group. The underlying Hopf algebra is the symmetric algebra S(V) and the product is Wick's normal product. Two coquasitriangular structures can be built from the two-point function and the Feynman propagator of scalar fields to reproduce the operator product and the time-ordered product as twist deformations of the normal product. A correspondence is established between the quantum group and the quantum field concepts. On the mathematical side the underlying structures come out of Hopf algebra cohomology.
Quantum fields are shown to provide an example of infinite-dimensional quantum groups. A dictionary is established between quantum field and quantum group concepts: the expectation value over the vacuum is the counit, Wick's theorem is the definition of a twisted product, operator and time-ordered products are examples of twisted products. Through this dictionary, coquasitriangular structures are introduced in quantum field theory. These structures are the origin of Wick's theorem and quasifree states. Renormalization becomes the replacement of a coquasitriangular structure by a 2-coboundary. Quantum groups provide a second quantization without commutators which can second-quantize noncommutative algebras.