Dynamic coarse-graining approach to quantum field theory
Talk by Prof. Dr. Hans Christian Öttinger
Date: 05.11.10 Time: 11.00 - 12.00 Room: ETH HIT F 31.1
Abstract: We build quantum field theory on the thermodynamic master equation for dissipative quantum systems. The vacuum is represented by a thermodynamic equilibrium state; even in the low-temperature limit, the population and evolution of excited states matter. All regularization is consistently provided by a friction mechanism; with decreasing friction parameter, only shorter and shorter scales are damped out of a quantum field theory. No divergent integrals need to be manipulated, no counterterms need to be invented. Relativistic covariance is recovered in the final results. We illustrate the proposed thermodynamic approach to quantum fields for the phi^4 theory.