Chua, Eugene Y. S. and Sebens, Charles (2024) Relativistic Locality from Electromagnetism to Quantum Field Theory. [Preprint]
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Relativistic Locality from EM to QFT (Dec 16 2024).pdf Download (2MB) |
Abstract
Electromagnetism is the paradigm case of a theory that satisfies relativistic locality. This can be proven by demonstrating that, once the theory’s laws are imposed, what is happening within a region fixes what will happen in the contracting light-cone with that region as its base. The Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations meet the same standard. We show that this standard can also be applied to quantum field theory (without collapse), examining two different ways of assigning reduced density matrix states to regions of space. Our preferred method begins from field wave functionals and judges quantum field theory to be local. Another method begins from particle wave functions (states in Fock space) and leads to either non-locality or an inability to assign states to regions, depending on the choice of creation operators. We take this analysis of quantum field theory (without collapse) to show that the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics is local at the fundamental level. We argue that this fundamental locality is compatible with either local or global accounts of the non-fundamental branching of worlds, countering an objection that has been raised to the Sebens-Carroll derivation of the Born Rule from self-locating uncertainty.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | |||||||||
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| Keywords: | quantum field theory, unitary quantum mechanics, relativistic locality, Fock space, wave functional, many-worlds interpretation | |||||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Field Theory Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics |
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| Depositing User: | Dr. Eugene Y. S. Chua | |||||||||
| Date Deposited: | 17 Dec 2024 13:15 | |||||||||
| Last Modified: | 17 Dec 2024 13:15 | |||||||||
| Item ID: | 24410 | |||||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Field Theory Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics |
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| Date: | 16 December 2024 | |||||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24410 |
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