Precision decay rate calculations in quantum field theory
Precision decay rate calculations in quantum field theory
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DOI：
10.1103/physrevd.95.085011
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发表时间：
2016-04
影响因子：
5
通讯作者：
Anders Andreassen;David Farhi;William Frost;M. Schwartz
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Anders Andreassen;David Farhi;William Frost;M. Schwartz
量子场论中的量子力学是值得正确理解的，尤其是因为它控制着我们宇宙的长期命运。然而，隧道速率计算的一些特征缺乏理想的透明度，例如解析延拓的必要性，使用有效势而不是经典势的适当性，以及对短距离物理的敏感性。本文试图在教学的细节审查的物理起源隧道和它的连接路径积分。传统的潜在的变形方法和最近更直接的传播为基础的方法进行了讨论。从使用近似半经典解的一些新的见解。此外，我们还探索了我们宇宙的寿命对短距离物理学（如量子引力）的敏感性，强调了一些重要的微妙之处。
Tunneling in quantum field theory is worth understanding properly, not least because it controls the long term fate of our universe. There are however, a number of features of tunneling rate calculations which lack a desirable transparency, such as the necessity of analytic continuation, the appropriateness of using an effective instead of classical potential, and the sensitivity to short-distance physics. This paper attempts to review in pedagogical detail the physical origin of tunneling and its connection to the path integral. Both the traditional potential-deformation method and a recent more direct propagator-based method are discussed. Some new insights from using approximate semi-classical solutions are presented. In addition, we explore the sensitivity of the lifetime of our universe to short distance physics, such as quantum gravity, emphasizing a number of important subtleties.