Artificial Dynamical Effects in Quantum Field Theory

Abstract

In Newtonian mechanics, inertial pseudoforces - or fictitious forces - appear in systems studied in non-Galilean reference frames; e.g., a centrifugal force seems to arise if the dynamics is analyzed in a rotating reference frame. The equivalent of Galilean invariance for relativistic kinematics is Poincaré invariance; analogous artificial effects may arise in relativistic quantum field theory (QFT) if a system is studied in a framework violating Poincaré invariance. We highlight how such issues complicate the traditional canonical quantization of QFTs and can lead to a subjective description of natural phenomena. In fact, if the system involves the strong interaction, obtaining objective results can become an intractable problem using canonical quantization because the pseudoforces are essentially nonperturbative. In contrast, the treatment of the same problem using light-front (LF) quantization is free of spurious pseudoeffects because Poincaré invariance is manifest; thus the treatment of strong interaction problems becomes simpler. These statements are illustrated using several examples: the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn (GDH) relation, a fundamental feature of QFT; the absence of any measurable impact of Lorentz contraction in high-energy collisions; and the fictitious character of vacuum fluctuation contributions to the cosmological constant.

21 page, 4 Figure. A version of this document, amended during the peer consultation process, has been accepted for publication in Nature Reviews Physics

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