nLab polynomial observable

Idea

Give a field theory (for instance a Lagrangian field theory) whose field bundle is a vector bundle, then the space of sections of the field bundle, hence the space of field histories, is canonically a vector space and hence it makes sense to consider observables which are linear functions, or quadratic functions of the field histories, etc. A sum of such is a polynomial observable.

Since linear smooth observables are compactly supported distributions (see at distributions are the smooth linear functionals) polynomial observables are sums of diagonals of distributions of several variables.

If all these distributional coefficients are non-singular distributions one speaks of regular observables.

Of all the distributional coefficients at order $k$ satisfy the condition that their wave front sets exclude the subsets where all $k$ wave vectors are all in the future cone or all in the past cone, then one speaks of microcausal observables.

types of observables in perturbative quantum field theory:

$$\array{ && \text{local} \\ && & \searrow \\ \text{field} &\longrightarrow& \text{linear} &\longrightarrow& \text{microcausal} &\longrightarrow& \text{polynomial} &\longrightarrow& \text{general} \\ && & \nearrow \\ && \text{regular} }$$

Definition

Definition

(polynomial observable)

Let $E \overset{fb}{\to}$ be field bundle which is a vector bundle. An off-shell polynomial observable is a smooth function

$$A \;\colon\; \Gamma_\Sigma(E) \longrightarrow \mathbb{C}$$

on the on-shell space of sections of the field bundle $E \overset{fb}{\to} \Sigma$ (space of field histories) which may be expressed as

$$A(\Phi) \;=\; \alpha^{(0)} + \int_\Sigma \alpha^{(1)}_a(x) \Phi^a(x) \, dvol_\Sigma(x) + \int_\Sigma \int_\Sigma \alpha^{(2)}_{a_1 a_2}(x_1, x_2) \Phi^{a_1}(x_1) \Phi^{a_2}(x_2) \,dvol_\Sigma(x_1) \, dvol_\Sigma(x_2) + \cdots \,,$$

where

$$\alpha^{(k)} \in \Gamma'_{\Sigma^k}\left((E^\ast)^{\boxtimes^k_{sym}} \right)$$

is a compactly supported distribution of k variables on the $k$-fold graded-symmetric external tensor product of vector bundles of the field bundle with itself.

Write

$$PolyObs(E) \hookrightarrow Obs(E)$$

for the subspace of off-shell polynomial observables onside all off-shell observables.

Let moreover $(E,\mathbf{L})$ be a free Lagrangian field theory whose equations of motion are Green hyperbolic differential equations. Then an on-shell polynomial observable is the restriction of an off-shell polynomial observable along the inclusion of the on-shell space of field histories $\Gamma_{\Sigma}(E)_{\delta_{EL}\mathbf{L} = 0} \hookrightarrow \Gamma_\Sigma(E)$. Write

$$PolyObs(E,\mathbf{L}) \hookrightarrow Obs(E,\mathbf{L})$$

for the subspace of all on-shell polynomial observables inside all on-shell observables.

By this prop. restriction yields an isomorphism between polynomial on-shell observables and polynomial off-shell observables modulo the image of the differential operator $P$:

$$PolyObs(E,\mathbf{L}) \underoverset{\simeq}{\text{restriction}}{\longleftarrow} PolyObs(E)/im(P) \,.$$

Various special cases:

Definition

(linear observable)

A linear observable is a polynomial observable (def. ) all whose coefficients except possible for $\alpha^{(1)}$ are zero.

Definition

(regular observable)

A regular observable is a polynomial observable (def. ) all whose coefficients $\alpha^{(k)}$ are non-singular distributions.

Definition

(microcausal observable)

For $\Sigma$ a spacetime, hence a Lorentzian manifold with time orientation, then a microcausal observable is a polynomial observable (def. ) such that each coefficient $\alpha^{(k)}$ has wave front set excluding those points where all $k$ wave vectors are in the future cone or all in the past cone.

Examples

Example

(field observables)

If the field bundle is a vector bundle, then the field observables

$$\mathbf{\Phi}^a(x) \;\colon\; \Phi \mapsto \Phi^a(x)$$

are linear observables (def. ).

Example

(polynomial local observables are polynomial observables)

A local observable which comes form a horizontal differential form which is a polynomial in the fields and their jets times the volume form on spacetime is a polynomial observable.

These happen to be also microcausal observables (this example).

Related concepts

polynomiallocal observables $\hookrightarrow$ microcausal observables $\hookrightarrow$ polynomial observables $\hookrightarrow$ observables

quantum probability theory – observables and states

• states

  • classical state

  • quantum state

    • space of states (in geometric quantization)

    • state on a star-algebra, quasi-state

    • qbit, Bell state

      dimer, tensor network state

    • quantum state preparation

    • probability amplitude, quantum fluctuation

    • pure state

      • wave function

      • bra-ket

      • Bell state

    • quantum superposition, quantum interference

    • quantum entanglement

    • quantum measurement

      wave function collapse

      Born rule

      deferred measurement principle

      quantum reader monad

      measurement problem

    • superselection sector

    • mixed state, density matrix

      entanglement entropy

      holographic entanglement entropy

    • coherent quantum state

  • ground state, excited state

  • quasi-free state

  • Fock space, second quantization

  • vacuum, vacuum state

    • Hadamard state

    • vacuum diagram

    • vacuum expectation value, vacuum amplitude, vacuum fluctuation

    • vacuum energy

    • vacuum polarization

    • interacting vacuum

    • thermal vacuum, KMS state

    • vacuum stability

      • false vacuum, tachyon, Coleman-De Luccia instanton

    • theta vacuum

    • perturbative string theory vacuum

      • non-geometric string theory vacuum

      • landscape of string theory vacua

  • entangled state

  • tensor network state

    • matrix product state

    • tree tensor network state

• observables

  • quantum observable, beable

  • algebra of observables, star-algebra

  • Bohr topos

  • quantum operator (in geometric quantization)

  • quantum operation, quantum effect, effect algebra

  • in quantum field theory

    • local observable

    • polynomial observable

      • linear observable

        • field observable

    • regular observable

    • microcausal observable

    • normal-ordered product, time-ordered products, retarded product

    • Wick algebra

    • scattering amplitude

    • interacting field algebra of observables, Bogoliubov's formula

• GNS construction

• theorems

  • order-theoretic structure in quantum mechanics

    • Gleason's theorem

    • Alfsen-Shultz theorem

    • Harding-Döring-Hamhalter theorem

    • Kochen-Specker theorem

    • Nuiten's lemma

  • Wigner's theorem

  • no-cloning theorem

  • Bell's theorem

References

See the references at microcausal observable.