In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines classical field theory, special relativity, and quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct physical models of subatomic particles and in condensed matter physics to construct models of quasiparticles. The current standard model of particle physics is based on quantum field theory.
The quantum harmonic oscillator is the quantum-mechanical analog of the classical harmonic oscillator. Because an arbitrary smooth potential can usually be approximated as a harmonic potential at the vicinity of a stable equilibrium point, it is one of the most important model systems in quantum mechanics. Furthermore, it is one of the few quantum-mechanical systems for which an exact, analytical solution is known.
In mathematics, de Moivre's formula states that for any real number x and integer n it holds that
In mechanics and geometry, the 3D rotation group, often denoted SO(3), is the group of all rotations about the origin of three-dimensional Euclidean space under the operation of composition.
In mathematics, the Gudermannian function relates a hyperbolic angle measure to a circular angle measure called the gudermannian of and denoted . The Gudermannian function reveals a close relationship between the circular functions and hyperbolic functions. It was introduced in the 1760s by Johann Heinrich Lambert, and later named for Christoph Gudermann who also described the relationship between circular and hyperbolic functions in 1830. The gudermannian is sometimes called the hyperbolic amplitude as a limiting case of the Jacobi elliptic amplitude when parameter
The sine-Gordon equation is a second-order nonlinear partial differential equation for a function dependent on two variables typically denoted and , involving the wave operator and the sine of .
In mathematics, theta functions are special functions of several complex variables. They show up in many topics, including Abelian varieties, moduli spaces, quadratic forms, and solitons. As Grassmann algebras, they appear in quantum field theory.
In theoretical physics, the Batalin–Vilkovisky (BV) formalism was developed as a method for determining the ghost structure for Lagrangian gauge theories, such as gravity and supergravity, whose corresponding Hamiltonian formulation has constraints not related to a Lie algebra. The BV formalism, based on an action that contains both fields and "antifields", can be thought of as a vast generalization of the original BRST formalism for pure Yang–Mills theory to an arbitrary Lagrangian gauge theory. Other names for the Batalin–Vilkovisky formalism are field-antifield formalism, Lagrangian BRST formalism, or BV–BRST formalism. It should not be confused with the Batalin–Fradkin–Vilkovisky (BFV) formalism, which is the Hamiltonian counterpart.
In probability and statistics, a circular distribution or polar distribution is a probability distribution of a random variable whose values are angles, usually taken to be in the range [0, 2π). A circular distribution is often a continuous probability distribution, and hence has a probability density, but such distributions can also be discrete, in which case they are called circular lattice distributions. Circular distributions can be used even when the variables concerned are not explicitly angles: the main consideration is that there is not usually any real distinction between events occurring at the opposite ends of the range, and the division of the range could notionally be made at any point.
In functional analysis, a branch of mathematics, it is sometimes possible to generalize the notion of the determinant of a square matrix of finite order (representing a linear transformation from a finite-dimensional vector space to itself) to the infinite-dimensional case of a linear operator S mapping a function space V to itself. The corresponding quantity det(S) is called the functional determinant of S.
In mathematical physics, some approaches to quantum field theory are more popular than others. For historical reasons, the Schrödinger representation is less favored than Fock space methods. In the early days of quantum field theory, maintaining symmetries such as Lorentz invariance, displaying them manifestly, and proving renormalisation were of paramount importance. The Schrödinger representation is not manifestly Lorentz invariant and its renormalisability was only shown as recently as the 1980s by Kurt Symanzik (1981).
The Sokhotski–Plemelj theorem is a theorem in complex analysis, which helps in evaluating certain integrals. The real-line version of it is often used in physics, although rarely referred to by name. The theorem is named after Julian Sochocki, who proved it in 1868, and Josip Plemelj, who rediscovered it as a main ingredient of his solution of the Riemann–Hilbert problem in 1908.
Common integrals in quantum field theory are all variations and generalizations of Gaussian integrals to the complex plane and to multiple dimensions. Other integrals can be approximated by versions of the Gaussian integral. Fourier integrals are also considered.
In physics, Liouville field theory is a two-dimensional conformal field theory whose classical equation of motion is a generalization of Liouville's equation.
In quantum information theory, the Wehrl entropy, named after Alfred Wehrl, is a classical entropy of a quantum-mechanical density matrix. It is a type of quasi-entropy defined for the Husimi Q representation of the phase-space quasiprobability distribution. See for a comprehensive review of basic properties of classical, quantum and Wehrl entropies, and their implications in statistical mechanics.
In pure and applied mathematics, quantum mechanics and computer graphics, a tensor operator generalizes the notion of operators which are scalars and vectors. A special class of these are spherical tensor operators which apply the notion of the spherical basis and spherical harmonics. The spherical basis closely relates to the description of angular momentum in quantum mechanics and spherical harmonic functions. The coordinate-free generalization of a tensor operator is known as a representation operator.
In quantum mechanics, weak measurements are a type of quantum measurement that results in an observer obtaining very little information about the system on average, but also disturbs the state very little. From Busch's theorem the system is necessarily disturbed by the measurement. In the literature weak measurements are also known as unsharp, fuzzy, dull, noisy, approximate, and gentle measurements. Additionally weak measurements are often confused with the distinct but related concept of the weak value.
Vasiliev equations are formally consistent gauge invariant nonlinear equations whose linearization over a specific vacuum solution describes free massless higher-spin fields on anti-de Sitter space. The Vasiliev equations are classical equations and no Lagrangian is known that starts from canonical two-derivative Frønsdal Lagrangian and is completed by interactions terms. There is a number of variations of Vasiliev equations that work in three, four and arbitrary number of space-time dimensions. Vasiliev's equations admit supersymmetric extensions with any number of super-symmetries and allow for Yang–Mills gaugings. Vasiliev's equations are background independent, the simplest exact solution being anti-de Sitter space. It is important to note that locality is not properly implemented and the equations give a solution of certain formal deformation procedure, which is difficult to map to field theory language. The higher-spin AdS/CFT correspondence is reviewed in Higher-spin theory article.
Massless free scalar bosons are a family of two-dimensional conformal field theories, whose symmetry is described by an abelian affine Lie algebra.
In theoretical physics, more specifically in quantum field theory and supersymmetry, supersymmetric Yang–Mills, also known as super Yang–Mills and abbreviated to SYM, is a supersymmetric generalization of Yang–Mills theory, which is a gauge theory that plays an important part in the mathematical formulation of forces in particle physics. It is a special case of 4D N = 1 global supersymmetry.
