Scale and Lorentz Transformations at the Light-Front

The light-front (LF) quantization is applied for the model of massive scalar field with self-interaction. We check some of the LF postulates by considering the Wightman function for this model. The scale symmetry imposed only on the LF quantization hypersurface and the Lorentz symmetry assumed for all points in Minkowski’s space-time lead to a strong constraint for the Wightman functions, which is satisfied only by a free and massless scalar field. This result agrees with the recent Weinberg’s result for a scale-symmetric theory. This means that one cannot expect the unitary equivalence of the Fock space for scalar fields with different masses at the LF hypersurface.     

Vacuum structures in Hamiltonian light-front dynamics

Hamiltonian light-front dynamics of quantum fields may provide a useful approach to systematic nonperturbative approximations to quantum field theories. We investigate inequivalent Hilbert-space representations of the light-front field algebra in which the stability group of the light front is implemented by unitary transformations. The Hilbert space representation of states is generated by the operator algebra from the vacuum state. There is a large class of vacuum states besides the Fock vacuum which meet all the invariance requirements. The light-front Hamiltonian must annihilate the vacuum and have a positive spectrum. We exhibit relations of the Hamiltonian to the nontrivial vacuum structure.     

Algebraic fermion bosonization

By exploiting the construction of charged field algebras as canonical extensions of CCR current algebras in 1+1 dimensions and nonregular representations of extended algebras, we provide an algebraic construction of local Fermi fields as ultrastrong limits of bosonic variables in all representations which are locally Fock with respect to the ground-state representation of the massless scalar field.     

Fock space construction of the massless dipole field

We construct the Fock space representation of the free massless scalar dipole field in terms of creation and annihilation operators for the eigenvectors of the momentum operator. The Poincaré group is implemented unitarily only on a subspace of the full (positive metric) Hilbert space. The subspace possesses a hermitean, local, irreducible scalar field constructed out of the (non-hermitean) dipole field. Thus this subspace is a perfect candidate for a physical subspace of observable particles. We show that this possibility is however excluded by the fact that these particles interact with an external c-number source in a manner that violates unitarity. We illustrate our construction by applying it to the linearized Higgs model with external c-number source and examine the (non-trivial) dynamics of the dipole degrees of freedom in this case. An explicit separation of the physical degrees of freedom from the unphysical ones is presented for this interacting model.     

Why Pair Production Cures Covariance in the Light-Front?

We show that the light-front vacuum is not trivial, and the Fock space for positive energy quanta solutions is not complete. As an example of this non triviality we have calculated the electromagnetic current for scalar bosons in the background field method were the covariance is restored through considering the complete Fock space of solutions. In this work we construct the electromagnetic current operator for a system composed of two free bosons. The technique employed to deduce these operators is through the definition of global propagators in the light front when a background electromagnetic field acts on one of the particles.     

Realisations of the representations of para-Fermi algebras—Part IV: Fock spaces of para-Bose and para-Fermi operators

The representations of the para-Fermi algebra in the Fock spaces of para-Bose and para-Fermi operators are constructed. The unitary equivalence of different representations is proved. The Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer pair creation and annihilation operators and the four fermion interaction appear as particular realisations of the para-Fermi algebra. The para-Fermi algebra representations in quantum mechanics are discussed.     

Optimal quantum estimation of the Unruh-Hawking effect

We address on general quantum-statistical grounds the problem of optimal detection of the Unruh-Hawking effect. We show that the effect signatures are magnified up to potentially observable levels if the scalar field to be probed has high mean energy from an inertial perspective: The Unruh-Hawking effect acts like an amplification channel. We prove that a field in a Fock inertial state, probed via photon counting by a noninertial detector, realizes the optimal strategy attaining the ultimate sensitivity allowed by quantum mechanics for the observation of the effect. We define the parameter regime in which the effect can be reliably revealed in laboratory experiments, regardless of the specific implementation.     

On mass-shell renormalizability of the massive Yang-Mills theory

Renormalizable theory of electroweak interactions without scalar particles can be constructed by the modifying the Standard Model. One should remove all terms with the scalar field from the Lagrangian in the unitary gauge. The resulting electroweak theory without the Higgs particle is on mass-shell renormalizable and unitary. Thus the experimental non-observation of the Higgs boson will not mean a problem for the concept of renormalizability in quantum field theory but will confirm the scalar free theory.     

The time-dependent quantum harmonic oscillator revisited: Applications to quantum field theory

In this article, we formulate the study of the unitary time evolution of systems consisting of an infinite number of uncoupled time-dependent harmonic oscillators in mathematically rigorous terms. We base this analysis on the theory of a single one-dimensional time-dependent oscillator, for which we first summarize some basic results concerning the unitary implementability of the dynamics. This is done by employing techniques different from those used so far to derive the Feynman propagator. In particular, we calculate the transition amplitudes for the usual harmonic oscillator eigenstates and define suitable semiclassical states for some physically relevant models. We then explore the possible extension of this study to infinite dimensional dynamical systems. Specifically, we construct Schrödinger functional representations in terms of appropriate probability spaces, analyze the unitarity of the time evolution, and probe the existence of semiclassical states for a wide range of physical systems, particularly, the well-known Minkowskian free scalar fields and Gowdy cosmological models.     

Quantized fields in external field

This is the second part of an article devoted to the study of quantized fields interacting with a smooth classical external field with fast space time decrease. The case of a charged scalar field is considered first. The existence of the corresponding Green's functions is proved. For weak fields, as well as pure electric or scalar external fields, the BogoliubovS-operator defined in Part I of this work is shown to be unitary, covariant, causal up-to-a-phase. Its perturbation expansion is shown to converge on a dense set in Fock space. These results are generalised to a class of higher spin quantized fields, nicely coupled to external fields, which includes the Dirac theory, and, in the case of minimal and magnetic dipole coupling, the spin one Petiau-Duffin-Kemmer theory. It is not known whether this class contains examples of physical interest involving quantized fields carrying spins larger than one.     

Nonperturbative Renormalization in Light-Front Dynamics and Applications

We present a general framework to calculate the properties of relativistic compound systems from the knowledge of an elementary Hamiltonian. Our framework provides a well-controlled nonperturbative calculational scheme which can be systematically improved. The state vector of a physical system is calculated in light-front dynamics. From the general properties of this form of dynamics, the state vector can be further decomposed in well-defined Fock components. In order to control the convergence of this expansion, we advocate the use of the covariant formulation of light-front dynamics. In this formulation, the state vector is projected on an arbitrary light-front plane ω·x =  0 defined by a light-like four-vector ω. This enables us to control any violation of rotational invariance due to the truncation of the Fock expansion. We then present a general nonperturbative renormalization scheme in order to avoid field-theoretical divergences which may remain uncancelled due to this truncation. This general framework has been applied to a large variety of models. As a starting point, we consider QED for the two-body Fock space truncation and calculate the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron. We show that it coincides, in this approximation, with the well-known Schwinger term. Then we investigate the properties of a purely scalar system in the three-body approximation, where we highlight the role of antiparticle degrees of freedom. As a non-trivial example of our framework, we calculate the structure of a physical fermion in the Yukawa model, for the three-body Fock space truncation (but still without antifermion contributions). We finally show why our approach is also well-suited to describe effective field theories like chiral perturbation theory in the baryonic sector.     

Time-to-space conversion in quantum field theory of flavor mixing

We address the time-to-space conversion in quantum field theory of mixing. In the general theory of quantum field mixing (with an arbitrary number of mixed fields with either boson or fermion statistics) the mixing relations for flavor states are derived directly from the definition of mixing for quantum fields and the unitary inequivalence of the Fock space of energy- and flavor-eigenstates is found. The time dynamics of the interacting fields can be explicitly solved and the flavor time oscillation formulas can be derived in a general form. In this work, we analyze the conversion of these results to space-oscillations with a generalized method of wave-packets. Emphasizing the antiparticle content, we work entirely within the canonical formalism of creation and annihilation operators that allows us to include the effect due to the nontrivial flavor vacuum.     

Gauge invariant Lagrangian construction for massive higher spin fermionic fields

We formulate a general gauge invariant Lagrangian construction describing the dynamics of massive higher spin fermionic fields in arbitrary dimensions. Treating the conditions determining the irreducible representations of Poincaré group with given spin as the operator constraints in auxiliary Fock space, we built the BRST charge for the model under consideration and find the gauge invariant equations of motion in terms of vectors and operators in the Fock space. It is shown that like in massless case [I.L. Buchbinder, V.A. Krykhtin, A. Pashnev, Nucl. Phys. B 711 (2005) 367, hep-th/0410215], the massive fermionic higher spin field models are the reducible gauge theories and the order of reducibility grows with the value of spin. In compare with all previous approaches, no off-shell constraints on the fields and the gauge parameters are imposed from the very beginning, all correct constraints emerge automatically as the consequences of the equations of motion. As an example, we derive a gauge invariant Lagrangian for massive spin 3/2 field.     

Localization of Unitary Braid Group Representations

Governed by locality, we explore a connection between unitary braid group representations associated to a unitary R-matrix and to a simple object in a unitary braided fusion category. Unitary R-matrices, namely unitary solutions to the Yang-Baxter equation, afford explicitly local unitary representations of braid groups. Inspired by topological quantum computation, we study whether or not it is possible to reassemble the irreducible summands appearing in the unitary braid group representations from a unitary braided fusion category with possibly different positive multiplicities to get representations that are uniformly equivalent to the ones from a unitary R-matrix. Such an equivalence will be called a localization of the unitary braid group representations. We show that the q = e ^πi/6 specialization of the unitary Jones representation of the braid groups can be localized by a unitary 9 × 9 R-matrix. Actually this Jones representation is the first one in a family of theories (SO(N), 2) for an odd prime N > 1, which are conjectured to be localizable. We formulate several general conjectures and discuss possible connections to physics and computer science.     

Modular structure of the local algebras associated with the free massless scalar field theory

The modular structure of the von Neumann algebra of local observables associated with a double cone in the vacuum representation of the free massless scalar field theory of any number of dimensions is described. The modular automorphism group is induced by the unitary implementation of a family of generalized fractional linear transformations on Minkowski space and is a subgroup of the conformal group. The modular conjugation operator is the anti-unitary implementation of a product of time reversal and relativistic ray inversion. The group generated by the modular conjugation operators for the local algebras associated with the family of double cone regions is the group of proper conformal transformations. A theorem is presented asserting the unitary equivalence of local algebras associated with lightcones, double cones, and wedge regions. For the double cone algebras, this provides an explicit realization of spacelike duality and establishes the known typeIII ₁ factor property. It is shown that the timelike duality property of the lightcone algebras does not hold for the double cone algebras. A different definition of the von Neumann algebras associated with a region is introduced which agrees with the standard one for a lightcone or a double cone region but which allows the timelike duality property for the double cone algebras. In the case of one spatial dimension, the standard local algebras associated with the double cone regions satisfy both spacelike and timelike duality.Supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. PHY-79-23251Supported in part by C. N. R.     

Unitary representations of non-compact supergroups

We give a general theory for the construction of oscillator-like unitary irreducible representations (UIRs) of non-compact supergroups in a super Fock space. This construction applies to all non-compact supergroupsG whose coset spaceG/K with respect to their maximal compact subsupergroupK is “Hermitean supersymmetric”. We illustrate our method with the example of SU(m, p/n+q) by giving its oscillator-like UIRs in a “particle state” basis as well as “supercoherent state basis”. The same class of UIRs can also be realized over the “super Hilbert spaces” of holomorphic functions of aZ variable labelling the coherent states.     

String propagation in gravitational wave backgrounds

The Conformal Field Theory of the current algebra of the centrally extended 2-d Euclidean group is analyzed. Its representations can be written in terms of four free fields (without background charge) with signature (-+++). We construct all irreducible representations of the current algebra with unitary base out of the free fields and their orbifolds. This is used to investigate the spectrum and scattering of strings moving in the background of a gravitational wave. We find that all the dynamics happens in the transverse space or the longitudinal one but not both.