Modular localization and the foundational origin of integrability (Q2391959)

This article looks back and provides a critical survey over the history of notions like integrability, Lagrangian quantization, modular localization, BRST formulation of gauge theories, conformal QFT, Tomita-Takesaki modular theory and superselection sectors. The whole material thus collected may be found in a huge set of references (82 of them). Some refer to previous articles by Schroer with similar content. Modular localization is a quite subtle recent concept and its physical relevance for particle physics remains an open problem. The present article has six sections. Section 1 discusses the notion of integrability in classical and quantum theory. Quantum mechanics is obtained from classical mechanics by a procedure called \textit{quantization} using a Lagrangian setting. In field theory, however, there are models outside the range of Lagrangian formulation. So Schroer emphasizes that there are unexplored regions in QFT and hence the entire theory is not anywhere near its closure. Sections 2 and 4 prepare the ground for \textit{modular localization} which is used in Section 5 where integrability versus non-integrability is discussed and characterized in terms of wedge-localized operator algebras. Sections 3 and 4 present some expected consequences of a stringlike formulation and discusses some algebraic aspects of modular theory. Finally, Section 6 emphasizes that the method to imply partial integrability in conformal QFT is in fact \textit{nonperturbative}. The article as a whole covers subjects which are not normally taught in a course on quantum field theory.