Undecidable problems in quantum field theory

Abstract

We point out that some questions in quantum field theory are undecidable in a precise mathematical sense. More concretely, it will be demonstrated that there is no algorithm answering whether a given 2d supersymmetric Lagrangian theory breaks supersymmetry or not. It will also be shown that there is a specific 2d supersymmetric Lagrangian theory which breaks supersymmetry if and only if the standard Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory with the axiom of choice is consistent, which can never be proved or disproved as the consequence of Gödel's second incompleteness theorem. The article includes a brief and informal introduction to the phenomenon of undecidability and its previous appearances in theoretical physics.

A 15-minute video presentation of the content is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H548i3dnsWE . v3: a nice reference listing undecidable problems in mathematics (arXiv:1204.0299) is added