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Concept
Thermal quantum field theory
Summary
In theoretical physics, thermal quantum field theory (thermal field theory for short) or finite temperature field theory is a set of methods to calculate expectation values of physical observables of a quantum field theory at finite temperature.
In the Matsubara formalism, the basic idea (due to Felix Bloch) is that the expectation values of operators in a canonical ensemble
may be written as expectation values in ordinary quantum field theory where the configuration is evolved by an imaginary time . One can therefore switch to a spacetime with Euclidean signature, where the above trace (Tr) leads to the requirement that all bosonic and fermionic fields be periodic and antiperiodic, respectively, with respect to the Euclidean time direction with periodicity (we are assuming natural units ). This allows one to perform calculations with the same tools as in ordinary quantum field theory, such as functional integrals and Feynman diagrams, but with compact Euclidean time. Note that the definition of normal ordering has to be altered.
In momentum space, this leads to the replacement of continuous frequencies by discrete imaginary (Matsubara) frequencies and, through the de Broglie relation, to a discretized thermal energy spectrum . This has been shown to be a useful tool in studying the behavior of quantum field theories at finite temperature.
It has been generalized to theories with gauge invariance and was a central tool in the study of a conjectured deconfining phase transition of Yang–Mills theory.
In this Euclidean field theory, real-time observables can be retrieved by analytic continuation. The Feynman rules for gauge theories in the Euclidean time formalism, were derived by C. W. Bernard.
The Matsubara formalism, also referred to as imaginary time formalism, can be extended to systems with thermal variations. In this approach, the variation in the temperature is recast as a variation in the Euclidean metric. Analysis of the partition function leads to an equivalence between thermal variations and the curvature of the Euclidean space.
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Related concepts (1)
Theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experimental tools to probe these phenomena. The advancement of science generally depends on the interplay between experimental studies and theory. In some cases, theoretical physics adheres to standards of mathematical rigour while giving little weight to experiments and observations.