Quantum Field Theory in a Semiotic Perspective
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Hans Günter Dosch, Volkhard F. Müller, Norman Sieroka
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Quantum Field Theory in a Semiotic Perspective
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Springer-Verlag
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9783540282129
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1
:
CHF 48.70
:
:
Theoretische Physik
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English
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66
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Wasserzeichen/DRM
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PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
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PDF
Viewing physical theories as symbolic constructions came to the fore in the middle of the nineteenth century with the emancipation of the classical theory of the electromagnetic field from mechanics, most notably this happened through the work of Helmholtz, Hertz, Poincaré, and later Weyl. The epistemological problems that nourished this development are today highlighted within quantum field theory. The present essay starts off with a concise and non-technical outline of the firmly based aspects of relativistic quantum field theory, i.e. the very successful description of subnuclear phenomena. The particular methods, by which these different aspects have to be accessed, then get described as distinct facets of quantum field theory. The authors show how these different facets vary with respect to the relation between quantum fields and associated particles. Thus, by emphasising the respective role of various basic concepts involved, the authors claim that only a very general epistemic approach can properly account for this diversity - an account they trace back to the philosophical writings of the aforementioned physicists and mathematicians. Finally, what they call their semiotic perspective on quantum field theory gets related to recent discussions within the philosophy of science and turns out to act as a counterbalance to, for instance, structural realism.
Contents
5
Introduction
6
Relativistic Quantum Field Theories Viewed as Physical Theories
9
2.1 The Empirical Domain
9
2.2 The Notion of a Relativistic Quantum Field
10
2.3 Local Gauge Symmetry
11
2.4 Particles versus Quantum Fields
12
2.5 The Facets of Quantum Field Theory
13
2.6 Renormalisability versus Effective Field Theories
21
Particles and Fields
25
Theories of Signs and Symbols, and Structural Realism
30
A Theory of Symbols for Quantum Field Theory
44
5.1 Symbols and Relations
44
5.2 A Semiotic View of Quantum Field Theory
47
Summary
53
References
55
Name Index
59
Subject Index
61
