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2 votes
0 answers
115 views

What is the definition of bound state in quantum field theory?

I asked a question a while a go what is a bound state and the question was closed because there is a similar question. Now since best description we have to describe nature in quantum field theory How ...
amilton moreira's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
182 views

Requirement of Jordan-Wigner string in creation operator on Fock state

Our lecture notes described the action of the particle creation operator on a fermionic Fock state: $$c_l^\dagger |n_1 n_2...\rangle = (-1)^{\sum_{j=1}^{l-1}n_j}|n_1 n_2 ... n_l+1 ...\rangle.$$ I am ...
Alex Gower's user avatar
  • 2,604
0 votes
1 answer
116 views

Is this definition of the Fourier Transform of a quantum field operator rigorous?

Let there be a a quantum field operator $\hat\phi(t,\vec{x})$ which, because it acts (pointwise) on a separable Hilbert space, I expect I can write as $$\hat\phi(t,\vec{x}) = \sum_n\sum_m\phi^n_m(t,\...
Pablo T.'s user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
545 views

Definition of the $S$-Matrix in Schwartz QFT-Book: Why is $\langle f, t_f | i, t_i \rangle$ in the Schroedinger picture, and not Heisenberg-picture?

On page 51, (equation 5.1), Mathew Schwartz introduces the $S$-matrix as \begin{align} \langle f| S | i \rangle_{Heisenberg} = \langle f, \infty | i, -\infty \rangle_{Schrödinger} \end{align} Were $|i,...
Quantumwhisp's user avatar
  • 6,763
14 votes
1 answer
5k views

Difference between Fock space and Hilbert Space

I am beginner in QFT. I would like to know why there is a need of constructing Fock space for a $N$-particle system? Why can't we represent this many body system just as the tensor product of Hilbert ...
walber97's user avatar
  • 1,348
0 votes
0 answers
154 views

Off-shell vs half off-shell vs fully off-shell $T$-matrix

I know what are on-shell particles, but I want to know what are off-shell, and half off-shell, and fully off-shell states? and how we decide to consider one of these states in evaluating $T$-Matrix?
tahami's user avatar
  • 11
1 vote
1 answer
706 views

Tracing over a Fock space?

Suppose you have a bosonic Fock space with a vacuum $|0\rangle$. A particular state is labeled by the parameter $N \in \mathbb{Z}$. You can construct states like $$ | n_{N} \rangle = \frac{ \left( \...
QuantumEyedea's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

Hermitian Adjoint of Spinor

Say we have a four component spinor $\psi$: $$ \psi=\begin{pmatrix}\psi_L\\\psi_R\end{pmatrix} $$ Is the Hermitian adjoint of this: $$ \psi^\dagger =\begin{pmatrix}\psi_L^\dagger \psi_R^\dagger\end{...
user avatar
21 votes
1 answer
5k views

Unitary quantum field theory

What do physicists mean when they refer to a quantum field theory being unitary? Does this mean that all the symmetry groups of the theory act via unitary representations? I would appreciate if one ...
Yaniel Cabrera's user avatar