On the Lorentz-Invariance of the Dyson Series in Theories with Derivative Couplings

We study the Dyson series for the S-matrix, when the interaction depends on derivatives of the fields. We concentrate on two particular examples: the scalar electrodynamics and the renormalized ф4 theory. By using Wick’s theorem, we eventually give evidence that the Lorentz invariance is satisfied, and the usual Feynman rules can be applied to the interaction Lagrangian.

Gaussian integrals. Algebraic preliminaries

In this work, the perturbative aspects of quantum mechanics (QM) and quantum field theory (QFT), to a large extent, are studied with functional (path or field) integrals and functional techniques. This physics textbook thus begins with a discussion of algebraic properties of Gaussian measures, and Gaussian expectation values for a finite number of variables. The important role of Gaussian measures is not unrelated to the central limit theorem of probabilities, although the interesting physics is generally hidden in essential deviations from Gaussian distributions. A few algebraic identities about Gaussian expectation values, in particular Wick's theorem are recalled. Integrals over some type of formally complex conjugate variables, directly relevant for boson systems are defined. Fermion systems require the introduction of Grassmann or exterior algebras, and the corresponding generalization of the notions of differentiation and integration. Both for complex and Grassmann integrals, Gaussian integrals, and Gaussian expectation values are calculated, and generalized Wick's theorems proven. The concepts of generating functions and Legendre transformation are recalled.

Towards spacetime entanglement entropy for interacting theories

Entanglement entropy of quantum fields in gravitational settings is a topic of growing importance. This entropy of entanglement is conventionally computed relative to Cauchy hypersurfaces where it is possible via a partial tracing to associate a reduced density matrix to the spacelike region of interest. In recent years Sorkin has proposed an alternative, manifestly covariant, formulation of entropy in terms of the spacetime two-point correlation function. This formulation, developed for a Gaussian scalar field theory, is explicitly spacetime in nature and evades some of the possible non-covariance issues faced by the conventional formulation. In this paper we take the first steps towards extending Sorkin’s entropy to non-Gaussian theories where Wick’s theorem no longer holds and one would expect higher correlators to contribute. We consider quartic perturbations away from the Gaussian case and find that to first order in perturbation theory, the entropy formula derived by Sorkin continues to hold but with the two-point correlators replaced by their perturbation-corrected counterparts. We then show that our results continue to hold for arbitrary perturbations (of both bosonic and fermionic theories). This is a non-trivial and, to our knowledge, novel result. Furthermore we also derive closed-form formulas of the entanglement entropy for arbitrary perturbations at first and second order. Our work also suggests avenues for further extensions to generic interacting theories.

Causal Poisson bracket via deformation quantization

Starting with the well-defined product of quantum fields at two spacetime points, we explore an associated Poisson structure for classical field theories within the deformation quantization formalism. We realize that the induced star-product is naturally related to the standard Moyal product through an appropriate causal Green’s functions connecting points in the space of classical solutions to the equations of motion. Our results resemble the Peierls–DeWitt bracket that has been analyzed in the multisymplectic context. Once our star-product is defined, we are able to apply the Wigner–Weyl map in order to introduce a generalized version of Wick’s theorem. Finally, we include some examples to explicitly test our method: the real scalar field, the bosonic string and a physically motivated nonlinear particle model. For the field theoretic models, we have encountered causal generalizations of the creation/annihilation relations, and also a causal generalization of the Virasoro algebra for the bosonic string. For the nonlinear particle case, we use the approximate solution in terms of the Green’s function, in order to construct a well-behaved causal bracket.