Dosch / Müller / Sieroka Quantum Field Theory in a Semiotic Perspective

1. Auflage 2006
ISBN: 978-3-540-28212-9
Verlag: Springer
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, Band 17, 66 Seiten, eBook

Reihe: Schriften der Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Klasse der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften

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.

Zielgruppe

Professional/practitioner

Autoren/Hrsg.

Dosch, Hans Günter

Müller, Volkhard F.

Sieroka, Norman

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Relativistic Quantum Field Theories Viewed as Physical Theories.- Particles and Fields.- Theories of Signs and Symbols, and Structural Realism.- A Theory of Symbols for Quantum Field Theory.- Summary.