Light-front puzzles

DOI10.1088/1751-8121/AD19E9MaRDI QIDQ6184828zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors W. N. Polyzou

Publication date 29 January 2024

Published in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical (Search for Journal in Brave)

Copyright license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.03847

zbMATH Keywords

forms of dynamicslight front quantum field theorylight front vacuum

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Quantum theory (81-XX) Relativity and gravitational theory (83-XX)

Abstract: Light-front formulations of quantum field theories have many advantages for computing electroweak matrix elements of strongly interacting systems and other quantities that are used to study hadronic structure. The theory can be formulated in Hamiltonian form so non-perturbative calculations of the strongly interacting initial and final states are in principle reduced to linear algebra. These states are needed for calculating parton distribution functions and other types of distribution amplitudes that are used to understand the structure of hadrons. Light-front boosts are kinematic transformations so the strongly interacting states can be computed in any frame. This is useful for computing current matrix elements involving electroweak probes where the initial and final hadronic states are in different frames related by the momentum transferred by the probe. Finally in many calculations the vacuum is trivial so the calculations can be formulated in Fock space. The advantages of light front-field theory would not be interesting if the light-front formulation was not equivalent to the covariant or canonical formulations of quantum field theory. Many of the distinguishing properties of light-front quantum field theory are difficult to reconcile with canonical or covariant formulations of quantum field theory. This paper discusses the resolution of some of the apparent inconsistencies in canonical, covariant and light-front formulations of quantum field theory. The puzzles that will be discussed are (1) the problem of inequivalent representations (2) the problem of the trivial vacuum (3) the problem of ill-posed initial value problems (4) the problem of rotational covariance (5) the problem of zero modes and (6) the problem of spontaneously broken symmetries.

Recommendations

• On the correspondence between a light-front Hamiltonian approach and a Lorentz-covariant formulation for quantum gauge theories
• Quantum fields on the light front, formulation in coordinates close to the light front, lattice approximation
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 2050858
• Vacuum loops in light-front field theory
• Why pair production cures covariance in the light-front?

Cites work

• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1583577 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3114221 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3144376 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3851821 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3629655 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 2050859 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1480222 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3207032 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3383043 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3187905 (Why is no real title available?)
• A new picture for light front dynamics
• An introduction to non-perturbative foundations of quantum field theory
• Comparing light-front quantization with instant-time quantization
• Field operators and retarded functions
• Forms of Relativistic Dynamics
• HIGGS MECHANISM IN A LIGHT FRONT FORMULATION
• Hamiltonian Formalism and the Canonical Commutation Relations in Quantum Field Theory
• Light-front holographic QCD and emerging confinement
• On the bound state problem in quantum field theory
• On the problem of mass dependence of the two-point function of the real scalar free massive field on the light cone
• Quantum Field Theories with Composite Particles and Asymptotic Conditions
• Quantum field theory on lightlike slabs
• Quantum field theory. Lectures of Sidney Coleman. With a foreword by David Kaiser. Edited by Bryan Gin-ge Chen, David Derbes, David Griffiths, Brian Hill, Richard Sohn and Yuan-Sen Ting
• Representation of States in a Field Theory with Canonical Variables
• The S-Matrix in the Heisenberg Representation
• The problem of \(P^{+}=0\) mode in the null-plane field theory and Dirac's method of quantization.
• Useful bases for problems in nuclear and particle physics
• Über einen Satz von Herrn M. H. Stone

This page was built for publication: Light-front puzzles

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q6184828)