Mass as a Relativistic Quantum Observable

Abstract

A field state containing photons propagating in different directions has a non vanishing mass which is a quantum observable. We interpret the shift of this mass under transformations to accelerated frames as defining space-time observables canonically conjugated to energy-momentum observables. Shifts of quantum observables differ from the predictions of classical relativity theory in the presence of a non vanishing spin. In particular, quantum redshift of energy-momentum is affected by spin. Shifts of position and energy-momentum observables however obey simple universal rules derived from invariance of canonical commutators.

5 pages, revised version

References in corpus (2)

• Space-Time Localisation with Quantum Fields
• Vacuum fluctuations, accelerated motion and conformal frames

Cited by in corpus (5)

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• Conformal Symmetry and Quantum Relativity
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