Spin-statistics theorem in path integral formulation

DOI10.1142/S0217751X0100516XMaRDI QIDQ2762416zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Kazuo Fujikawa

Publication date 6 November 2003

Published in International Journal of Modern Physics A (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0107076

zbMATH Keywords

complex numbersGrassmann numberspath integralsspin-statistics theorem

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Commutation relations and statistics as related to quantum mechanics (general) (81S05) Path integrals in quantum mechanics (81S40) Quantum field theory on curved space or space-time backgrounds (81T20)

Abstract: We present a coherent proof of the spin-statistics theorem in path integral formulation. The local path integral measure and Lorentz invariant local Lagrangian, when combined with Green's functions defined in terms of time ordered products, ensure causality regardless of statistics. The Feynman's $m-iepsilon$ prescription ensures the positive energy condition regardless of statistics, and the abnormal spin-statistics relation for both of spin-0 scalar particles and spin-1/2 Dirac particles is excluded if one imposes the positive norm condition in conjunction with Schwinger's action principle. The minus commutation relation between one Bose and one Fermi field arises naturally in path integral. The Feynman's $m-iepsilon$ prescription also ensures a smooth continuation to Euclidean theory, for which the use of the Weyl anomaly is illustrated to exclude the abnormal statistics for the scalar and Dirac particles not only in 4-dimensional theory but also in 2-dimensional theory.

Review text

After the historical review of the different approaches to spin-statistics theorem, its coherent proof in the path integral formulation is given. The work is motivated by the wide application of path integrals in modern QFT. Among different possible presentations of the positive energy condition, the Feynman's \(m-i\varepsilon\) prescription is preferred. The local path integral measure is defined in terms of the complex and Grassmann numbers giving rise correspondingly to Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac statistics. It is shown that the indefinite metric appears if one uses Grassmann numbers for spin 0 particles, and the negative metric for the negative energy states appears if one uses complex numbers for Dirac particles. The Feynman \(m-i\varepsilon\) prescription allows a smooth continuation to Euclidean theory.

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Cites work

• Connection between Spin and Statistics
• On the Connection Between the Spin and Statistics of Elementary Particles
• On the connection of spin with statistics
• The Connection Between Spin and Statistics
• The Theory of Positrons
• The Theory of Quantized Fields. I

Cited in

(3)

• On the failure of spin-statistics connection in quantum gravity
• The spin-statistics theorem in arbitrary dimensions
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 2021829 (Why is no real title available?)

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