Sfb 288 Differential Geometry and Quantum Physics

Abstract for Sfb Preprint No. 354

QFT at the Turn of the Century: old principles with new concepts

B. Schroer

Historical aspects as well as the present state of QFT are analysed from a new viewpoint whose mathematical basis is the modular theory of von Neumann algebras. Its physical consequences suggest a new symmetry concept as well as a novel way of dealing nonperturbatively with interactions. The former generalizes the infinite dimensional diffeomorphism groups of low dimensional conformal theories to infinite dimensional groups in higher dimensions, with all symmetries beyond the Poincaré group being either partially or totally "hidden" (nonpointlike). Interactions are incorporated by using the fact that the S-matrix is a relative modular invariant of the interacting - relative to the incoming - net of wedge algebras. This new point of view allows many interesting comparisons with the standard quantization approach to QFT. Los Alamos e-Print archive: hep-th/9810080

---

Get a gzip-compressed PostScript copy of this preprint
preprint354.ps.gz (102 kB)

---