Quantum Relativity

Over the past years the author has developed a quantum language going beyond the concepts used by Bohr and Heisenberg. The simple formal algebraic language is designed to be consistent with quantum theory. It differs from natural languages in its epistemology, modal structure, logical connections, and copulatives. Starting from ideas of John von Neumann and in part also as a response to his fundamental work, the author bases his approach on what one really observes when studying quantum processes. This way the new language can be seen as a clue to a deeper understanding of the concepts of quantum physics, at the same time avoiding those paradoxes which arise when using natural languages. The work is organized didactically: The reader learns in fairly concrete form about the language and its structure as well as about its use for physics.

This book treats various aspects of the quantum theory of measurement, partially in a relativistic framework. Measurement(-like) processes in quantum theory are identified and analysed; and the quantum operator formalism is derived in full generality without postulating operators as observables. Consistency conditions are derived, expressing the requirement of Lorentz-frame independence of outcomes of spacelike separated measurements and implying the impossibility of using quantum nonlocality to send signals faster than light. Local commutativity is scrutinized. The localization problem of relativistic quantum theory is studied, including comprehensive derivation of the theorems of Hegerfeld, Malament and Reeh-Schlieder. Finally, the quantum formalism is derived from the dynamics of particles with definite positions in Bohmian mechanics.

Quantum physics and special relativity theory were two of the greatest breakthroughs in physics during the twentieth century and contributed to paradigm shifts in physics. This book combines these two discoveries to provide a complete description of the fundamentals of relativistic quantum physics, guiding the reader effortlessly from relativistic quantum mechanics to basic quantum field theory. The book gives a thorough and detailed treatment of the subject, beginning with the classification of particles, the Klein–Gordon equation and the Dirac equation. It then moves on to the canonical quantization procedure of the Klein–Gordon, Dirac and electromagnetic fields. Classical Yang–Mills theory, the LSZ formalism, perturbation theory, elementary processes in QED are introduced, and regularization, renormalization and radiative corrections are explored. With exercises scattered through the text and problems at the end of most chapters, the book is ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in theoretical physics.

This advanced textbook supplies graduate students with a primer in quantum theory. A variety of processes are discussed with concepts such as potentials, classical current distributions, prescribed external fields dealt with in the framework of relativistic quantum mechanics. Then, in an introduction to field theory, the author emphasizes the deduction of the said potentials or currents. A modern presentation of the subject together with many exercises, unique in its unusual underlying concept of combining relativistic quantum mechanics with basic quantum field theory.

The third edition of Quantum Non-Locality and Relativity has been carefully updated to reflect significant developments, including a new chapter covering important recent work in the foundations of physics. A new edition of the premier philosophical study of Bell’s Theorem and its implication for the relativistic account of space and time Discusses Roderich Tumiulka’s explicit, relativistic theory that can reproduce the quantum mechanical violation of Bell’s inequality. Discusses the "Free Will Theorem" of John Conway and Simon Kochen Introduces philosophers to the relevant physics and demonstrates how philosophical analysis can help inform physics

This graduate text introduces relativistic quantum theory, emphasising its important applications in condensed matter physics. Relativistic quantum theory is the unification into a consistent theory of Einstein's theory of relativity and the quantum mechanics of Bohr, Schrödinger, and Heisenberg, etc. Beginning with basic theory, the book then describes essential topics. Many worked examples and exercises are included along with an extensive reference list. This clear account of a crucial topic in science will be valuable to graduates and researchers working in condensed matter physics and quantum physics.

13 yrs+

This book is a treatise on time and on background independence in physics. It first considers how time is conceived of in each accepted paradigm of physics: Newtonian, special relativity, quantum mechanics (QM) and general relativity (GR). Substantial differences are moreover uncovered between what is meant by time in QM and in GR. These differences jointly source the Problem of Time: Nine interlinked facets which arise upon attempting concurrent treatment of the QM and GR paradigms, as is required in particular for a background independent theory of quantum gravity. A sizeable proportion of current quantum gravity programs - e.g. geometrodynamical and loop quantum gravity approaches to quantum GR, quantum cosmology, supergravity and M-theory - are background independent in this sense. This book's foundational topic is thus furthermore of practical relevance in the ongoing development of quantum gravity programs. This book shows moreover that eight of the nine facets of the Problem of Time already occur upon entertaining background independence in classical (rather than quantum) physics. By this development, and interpreting shape theory as modelling background independence, this book further establishes background independence as a field of study. Background independent mechanics, as well as minisuperspace (spatially homogeneous) models of GR and perturbations thereabout are used to illustrate these points. As hitherto formulated, the different facets of the Problem of Time greatly interfere with each others' attempted resolutions. This book explains how, none the less, a local resolution of the Problem of Time can be arrived at after various reconceptualizations of the facets and reformulations of their mathematical implementation. Self-contained appendices on mathematical methods for basic and foundational quantum gravity are included. Finally, this book outlines how supergravity is refreshingly different from GR as a realization of background independence, and what background independence entails at the topological level and beyond.