Are rindler quanta real? Inequivalent particle concepts in quantum field theory
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Are rindler quanta real? Inequivalent particle concepts in quantum field theory. / Clifton, Rob; Halvorson, Hans.
In: British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 52, No. 3, 2001, p. 417-470.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Are rindler quanta real? Inequivalent particle concepts in quantum field theory
AU - Clifton, Rob
AU - Halvorson, Hans
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - Philosophical reflection on quantum field theory has tended to focus on how it revises our conception of what a particle is. However, there has been relatively little discussion of the threat to the 'reality' of particles posed by the possibility of inequivalent quantizations of a classical field theory, i.e. inequivalent representations of the algebra of observables of the field in terms of operators on a Hubert space. The threat is that each representation embodies its own distinctive conception of what a particle is, and how a 'particle' will respond to a suitably operated detector. Our main goal is to clarify the subtle relationship between inequivalent representations of a field theory and their associated particle concepts. We also have a particular interest in the Minkowski versus Rindler quantizations of a free Boson field, because they respectively entail two radically different descriptions of the particle content of the field in the very same region of spacetime. We shall defend the idea that these representations provide complementary descriptions of the same state of the field against the claim that they embody completely incommensurable theories of the field.
AB - Philosophical reflection on quantum field theory has tended to focus on how it revises our conception of what a particle is. However, there has been relatively little discussion of the threat to the 'reality' of particles posed by the possibility of inequivalent quantizations of a classical field theory, i.e. inequivalent representations of the algebra of observables of the field in terms of operators on a Hubert space. The threat is that each representation embodies its own distinctive conception of what a particle is, and how a 'particle' will respond to a suitably operated detector. Our main goal is to clarify the subtle relationship between inequivalent representations of a field theory and their associated particle concepts. We also have a particular interest in the Minkowski versus Rindler quantizations of a free Boson field, because they respectively entail two radically different descriptions of the particle content of the field in the very same region of spacetime. We shall defend the idea that these representations provide complementary descriptions of the same state of the field against the claim that they embody completely incommensurable theories of the field.
U2 - 10.1093/bjps/52.3.417
DO - 10.1093/bjps/52.3.417
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:0006194706
VL - 52
SP - 417
EP - 470
JO - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science
JF - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science
SN - 0007-0882
IS - 3
ER -
ID: 289119263