Composite field

See also: Composite field (mathematics)

In quantum field theory, a composite field is a field defined in terms of other more "elementary" fields. It might describe a composite particle (bound state) or it might not.

It might be local, or it might be nonlocal. However, "quantum fields do not exist as a point taken in isolation," so "local" does not mean literally a single point. ^[1]

Composite fields use a very specific kind of statistics, called "duality and arbitrary statistics". ^[2]

Under Noether's theorem, Noether fields are often composite fields, ^[3] and they are local.

In the generalized LSZ formalism, composite fields, which are usually nonlocal, are used to model asymptotic bound states.^{[ citation needed ]}

See also

• Fermionic field
• Bosonic field
• Auxiliary field

References

1. General Principles of Quantum Field Theory. Springer Netherlands. 2012. pp. 379, 381. ISBN   9789400904910 . Retrieved June 12, 2025.
2. Marino, Eduardo C. (2017). Quantum Field Theory Approach to Condensed Matter Physics. Cambridge University Press. pp. 175–178. ISBN   9781108508858 . Retrieved June 12, 2025.
3. Duncan, Anthony (2012). The Conceptual Framework of Quantum Field Theory. Oxford University Press. pp. 430–431. ISBN   9780199573264 . Retrieved June 12, 2025.