1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910146417203321

Autore

Graham N

Titolo

Spectral methods in quantum field theory / / N. Graham, M. Quandt, H. Weigel

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Dordrecht ; ; New York, : Springer, c2009

ISBN

9783642001390

3642001394

Edizione

[1st ed. 2009.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (XI, 182 p. 30 illus.)

Collana

Lecture notes in physics, , 0075-8450 ; ; 777

Classificazione

UD 8220

UO 4000

Altri autori (Persone)

QuandtM

WeigelH

Disciplina

530.143

Soggetti

Quantum field theory

Spectral theory (Mathematics)

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Review of Scattering Theory -- Quantum Field Theory and the Spectral Method -- Applications in One Space Dimension -- Spectral Analysis of Charges -- Hedgehog Configurations in = 3+1 -- Boundary Conditions and Casimir Forces -- String-Type Configurations -- Quantum Corrections to -Balls.

Sommario/riassunto

This concise text introduces techniques from quantum mechanics, especially scattering theory, to compute the effects of an external background on a quantum field in general, and on the properties of the quantum vacuum in particular. This approach can be successfully used in an increasingly large number of situations, ranging from the study of solitons in field theory and cosmology to the determination of Casimir forces in nano-technology. The method introduced and applied in this book is shown to give an unambiguous connection to perturbation theory, implementing standard renormalization conditions even for non-perturbative backgrounds. It both gives new theoretical insights, for example illuminating longstanding questions regarding Casimir stresses, and also provides an efficient analytic and numerical tool well suited to practical calculations. Last but not least, it elucidates in a concrete context many of the subtleties of quantum field theory, such



as divergences, regularization and renormalization, by connecting them to more familiar results in quantum mechanics. While addressed primarily at young researchers entering the field and nonspecialist researchers with backgrounds in theoretical and mathematical physics, introductory chapters on the theoretical aspects of the method make the book self-contained and thus suitable for advanced graduate students.