Feintzeig, Benjamin (2026) On the Structure of Charge in Classical and Quantum Physics. [Preprint]
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Abstract
This paper takes up a suggestion that the structure associated with physical charge in quantum theories is best captured mathematically by the collection of charge representations of the quantum theory. In order to assess the evidence for this view, I investigate whether this charge structure has been preserved across theory change from classical to quantum physics. I show that one can analogously take charge structure in classical physics to be captured by the collection of charge representations of a classical theory. But one faces the potential problem that the collections of classical and quantum charge representations appear to not be isomorphic. I solve the problem by showing that if one attends carefully to more sophisticated category-theoretic tools for comparing structure, then one finds a precise and substantive sense in which charge structure is preserved from classical to quantum theories. I argue these results lead to greater understanding of inequivalent representations in quantum physics.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Keywords: | algebraic quantum theory, inequivalent representations, structural realism, category theory | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances |
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| Depositing User: | Benjamin Feintzeig | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 05 May 2026 21:27 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 05 May 2026 21:27 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 29275 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances |
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| Date: | 21 April 2026 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/29275 |
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