Relativistic invariance and charge conjugation in quantum field theory
Description
We prove that superselection sectors with finite statistics in the sense of Doplicher, Haag, and Roberts are automatically Poincare covariant under natural conditions (e.g. split property for space-like cones and duality for contractible causally complete regions). The same holds for topological charges, namely sectors localized in space-like cones, providing a converse to a theorem of Buchholz and Fredenhagen. We introduce the notion of weak conjugate sector that turns out to be equivalent to the DHR conjugate in finite statistics. The weak conjugate sector is given by an explicit formula that relates it to the PCT symmetry in a Wightman theory. Every Euclidean covariant sector (possibly with infinite statistics) has a weak conjugate sector and the converse is true under the above natural conditions. On the same basis, translation covariance is equivalent to the property that sectors are sheaf maps modulo inner automorphisms, for a certain sheaf structure given by the local algebras. The construction of the weak conjugate sector extends to the case of local algebras on S1, conformal theories in particular. Our main tools are the Bisognano-Wichmann description of the modular structure of the von Neumann algebras associated with wedge regions in the vacuum sector and the relation between Jones index theory for subfactors and the statistics of superselection sectors. (orig.)
Additional details
Publishing Information
- Journal Title
- Communications in Mathematical Physics
- Journal Volume
- 148
- Journal Issue
- 3
- Series
- Commun. Math. Phys.
- Journal Page Range
- 521-551
- ISSN
- 0010-3616
- CODEN
- CMPHA
INIS
- Country of Publication
- Germany
- Country of Input or Organization
- Germany
- INIS RN
- 23076792
- Subject category
- S72: PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS;
- Descriptors DEI
- ALGEBRAIC FIELD THEORY; C INVARIANCE; COMMUTATION RELATIONS; CONFORMAL INVARIANCE; CPT THEOREM; DUALITY; EUCLIDEAN SPACE; HILBERT SPACE; IRREDUCIBLE REPRESENTATIONS; LIE GROUPS; LOCALITY; LORENTZ INVARIANCE; MINKOWSKI SPACE; QUANTUM FIELD THEORY; SUPERSELECTION RULES; TOPOLOGICAL MAPPING; TOPOLOGY; VACUUM STATES; WIGHTMAN FIELD THEORY
- Descriptors DEC
- AXIOMATIC FIELD THEORY; BANACH SPACE; FIELD THEORIES; INVARIANCE PRINCIPLES; MAPPING; MATHEMATICAL SPACE; MATHEMATICS; RIEMANN SPACE; SELECTION RULES; SPACE; SYMMETRY GROUPS; TRANSFORMATIONS