A Jost-Schroer theorem for string fields

It is shown that the truncated Wightman functions of three or more string-localized fields vanish if they are solutions of a Klein-Gordon equation in each variable. As an application it is shown that a string field is a free field if its two-point functions are those of a free field. Another application to perturbation theory is pointed out.     

A Level-One Representation of the Quantum Affine Superalgebra \UqMN

A level-one representation of the quantum affine superalgebra? and vertex operators associated with the fundamental representations are constructed in terms of free bosonic fields. Character formulas of level-one irreducible highest weight modules of are conjectured. Received: 30 September 1996 / Accepted: 4 February 1997     

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.     

The Representations of the Poincaré Group in the Framework of Free Quantum Fields

This review article arose while the author tried to get acquainted with the recent developments in the domain of the representations of the Poincaré group in the quantum field theory. Special emphasis was put in this article on the case of massless free fields. Some ideas concerning general restrictions imposed upon the spinorial fields in order to get irreducible representations seem to be new and original.     

The physical meaning of the de Sitter invariants

We study the Lie algebras of the covariant representations transforming the matter fields under the de Sitter isometries. We point out that the Casimir operators of these representations can be written in closed forms and we deduce how their eigenvalues depend on the field’s rest energy and spin. For the scalar, vector and Dirac fields, which have well-defined field equations, we express these eigenvalues in terms of mass and spin obtaining thus the principal invariants of the theory of free fields on the de Sitter spacetime. We show that in the flat limit we recover the corresponding invariants of the Wigner irreducible representations of the Poincaré group.     

Tensor methods for the exceptional group E6

We present a tensor formalism to describe irreducible representations of the exceptional group E₆. Irreducible tensors are characterized by covariant and contravariant indices associated with the irreducible representation 27, and a third (orthogonal-type) index associated with the 78; contractions of these indices with a set of invariant tensors are required to vanish for irreducibility. The formalism is applied to the reduction of Kronecker products of E₆ irreducible representations. As a further illustration of the method, we construct explicitly the Higgs potential for scalar fields in the E₆ representations 27, 78, 351, 351′.     

An Algebraic Jost-Schroer Theorem for Massive Theories

We consider a purely massive local relativistic quantum theory specified by a family of von Neumann algebras indexed by the space-time regions. We assume that, affiliated with the algebras associated to wedge regions, there are operators which create only single particle states from the vacuum (so-called polarization-free generators) and are well-behaved under the space-time translations. Strengthening a result of Borchers, Buchholz and Schroer, we show that then the theory is unitarily equivalent to that of a free field for the corresponding particle type. We admit particles with any spin and localization of the charge in space-like cones, thereby covering the case of string-localized covariant quantum fields.     

Fields,statistics and non-Abelian gauge groups

We examine field theories with a compact groupG of exact internal gauge symmetries so that the superselection sectors are labelled by the inequivalent irreducible representations ofG. A particle in one of these sectors obeys a parastatistics of orderd if and only if the corresponding representation ofG isd-dimensional. The correspondence between representations of the observable algebra and representations ofG extends to a mapping of the intertwining operators for these representations preserving linearity, tensor products and conjugation. Although we assume no explicit commutation property between fields, the commutation relations of fields of the same irreducible tensor character underG at spacelike separations are largely determined by the statistics parameter of the corresponding sector. For fields of conjugate irreducible tensor character the observable part of the commutator (anticommutator) vanishes at spacelike separations if the corresponding sector has para-Bose (para-Fermi) statistics.     

Massless Fields as Unitary Representations of the Poincaré Group

Relativistic zero-mass fields are described as manifestly covariant unitary irreducible representations of the Poincaré group. The wave-equations, which are a necessary condition for unitarity, are constructed for spinor fields of arbitrary spin and for tensor fields of integer spin. Poincaré covariance together with causality and positive energy are used to determine the commutators of quantized fields up to a positive multiple and to prove the spin-statistics theorem. The use of potentials for boson fields is discussed and it is shown that, at the expense of manifest covariance, potentials may be introduced as zero-mass limits of the massive Wigner representations.     

Atom-photon cluster as an elementary emitter

The interaction of an atomic ensemble localized in a microcavity with external electromagnetic fields under Raman resonance conditions with an optically forbidden atomic transition involving photons of the microcavity mode has been described in terms of third-order polynomial algebra. It has been shown that atoms and photons localized in the microcavity under these conditions form a united object, an atom-photon cluster, on the states of which the irreducible representations of polynomial algebra are implemented. Classical coherent and quantum broadband electromagnetic fields are considered as external fields. The effective Hamiltonian, effective dipole moment operator, and relaxation operator of the atom-photon cluster are expressed in terms of the generators of polynomial algebra, which is the algebra of the dynamical symmetry of the problem. The developed mathematical technique has been applied to describe the main radiative processes—spontaneous emission and nutation effect—on atom-photon clusters. All of these effects are peculiar and differ from similar phenomena on two-level atoms, but only simple cases of the mentioned radiative processes have been considered.     

Infinite conformal symmetry in two-dimensional quantum field theory

We present an investigation of the massless, two-dimentional, interacting field theories. Their basic property is their invariance under an infinite-dimensional group of conformal (analytic) transformations. It is shown that the local fields forming the operator algebra can be classified according to the irreducible representations of Virasoro algebra, and that the correlation functions are built up of the “conformal blocks” which are completely determined by the conformal invariance. Exactly solvable conformal theories associated with the degenerate representations are analyzed. In these theories the anomalous dimensions are known exactly and the correlation functions satisfy the systems of linear differential equations.     

Infinite conformal symmetry of critical fluctuations in two dimensions

We study the massless quantum field theories describing the critical points in two dimensional statistical systems. These theories are invariant with respect to the infinite dimensional group of conformal (analytic) transformations. It is shown that the local fields forming the operator algebra can be classified according to the irreducible representations of the Virasoro algebra. Exactly solvable theories associated with degenerate representations are analized. In these theories the anomalous dimensions are known exactly and the correlation functions satisfy the system of linear differential equations.Professor A. B. Zamolodchikov was unable to attend the conference to present this invited paper personally.     

Linear covariance for nonlinear formal representations of the Poincaré group in 2+1 dimensions

A concept of linear covariance is defined for nonlinear formal representations of the Poincaré group. Then it is proved that the formal nonlinear representations previously built for 2+1 dimensions with irreducible unitary massless representations as free parts (cf. (1)) are nonlinearly equivalent to linearly covariant representations.     

Physical symmetries in a theory of several scalar real fields

Let us consider a theory ofn scalar, real, local, Poincaré covariant quantum fields forming an irreducible set and giving rise to one particle states belonging to the same mass different from zero. The vacuum is unique. It is shown under fairly weak assumptions that every Poincaré and TCP invariant symmetry of the theory, implemented unitarily, which mapps localized elements of the field algebra into operators almost local with respect to the former (such a symmetry we call a physical one) can be defined uniquely in terms of the incoming or outgoing fields and ann-dimensional (real) orthogonal matrix. The symmetry commutes with the scattering matrix. Incidentally we show also that the symmetry groups are compact. A special case of these symmetries are the internal symmetries and symmetries induced by locally conserved currents local with respect to the basic fields and transforming under the same representation of the Poincaré group. We may make linear combinations out the original fields resulting in complex fields and its complex conjugate in a suitable way. The inspection of the representations of the groupsSO(n) and their subgroups sheds some light on the s.c. generalized Carruthers Theorem concerning the self- and pair-conjugate multiplets.     

Where Infinite Spin Particles are Localizable

Particle states transforming in one of the infinite spin representations of the Poincaré group (as classified by E. Wigner) are consistent with fundamental physical principles, but local fields generating them from the vacuum state cannot exist. While it is known that infinite spin states localized in a spacelike cone are dense in the one-particle space, we show here that the subspace of states localized in any double cone is trivial. This implies that the free field theory associated with infinite spin has no observables localized in bounded regions. In an interacting theory, if the vacuum vector is cyclic for a double cone local algebra, then the theory does not contain infinite spin representations. We also prove that if a Doplicher–Haag–Roberts representation (localized in a double cone) of a local net is covariant under a unitary representation of the Poincaré group containing infinite spin, then it has infinite statistics. These results hold under the natural assumption of the Bisognano–Wichmann property, and we give a counter-example (with continuous particle degeneracy) without this property where the conclusions fail. Our results hold true in any spacetime dimension s + 1 where infinite spin representations exist, namely \({s\geq 2}\).     

Quantum Incompressibility of a Falling Rydberg Atom, and a Gravitationally-Induced Charge Separation Effect in Superconducting Systems

Freely falling point-like objects converge toward the center of the Earth. Hence the gravitational field of the Earth is inhomogeneous, and possesses a tidal component. The free fall of an extended quantum mechanical object such as a hydrogen atom prepared in a high principal-quantum-number state, i.e. a circular Rydberg atom, is predicted to fall more slowly than a classical point-like object, when both objects are dropped from the same height above the Earth’s surface. This indicates that, apart from transitions between quantum states, the atom exhibits a kind of quantum mechanical incompressibility during free fall in inhomogeneous, tidal gravitational fields like those of the Earth.     

Analytic loops and gauge fields

In this paper the linear representations of analytic Moufang loops are investigated. We prove that every representation of semisimple analytic Moufang loop is completely reducible and find all nonassociative irreducible representations. We show that such representations are closely associated with the (anti-)self-dual Yang–Mills equations in R⁸.     

Superfields as Representations

We study irreducible and reducible representations of the generalized Lie algebra of Wess and Zumino. The algebra is integrated to a group with the help of Grassmann algebras and the representations of the algebra are made into representations of the group. We construct invariant sesquilinear forms that are positive definite for the Wess-Zumino algebra over the complex field. We define irreducible superfields for any spin J as specific realizations of such representations. All superfields appearing in the literature are either equivalent to one of these or built up out of these superfields.     

A self-consistent approach to quantum field theory for extended particles

A notion of quantum space-time is introduced, physically defined as the totality of all flows of quantum test particles in free fall. In quantum space-time the classical notion of deterministic inertial frames is replaced by that of stochastic frames marked by extended particles. The same particles are used both as markers of quantum space-time points as well as natural clocks, each species of quantum test particle thus providing a standard for space-time measurements. In the considered flat-space case, the fluctuations in coordinate values with respect to stochastic frames are described by coordinate probability amplitudes related to irreducible stochastic phase space representations of the Poincaré group. Lagrangian field theory on quantum space-time is formulated. The ensuing equations of motion for interacting fields contain no singularities in their nonlinear terms, and therefore can be handled by methods borrowed from classical nonlinear analysis.Supported in part by an NSERC grant.