Canonical commutation relationIn quantum mechanics, the canonical commutation relation is the fundamental relation between canonical conjugate quantities (quantities which are related by definition such that one is the Fourier transform of another). For example, between the position operator x and momentum operator px in the x direction of a point particle in one dimension, where [x , px] = x px − px x is the commutator of x and px , i is the imaginary unit, and ħ is the reduced Planck's constant h/2π, and is the unit operator.
Quantum superpositionQuantum superposition is a fundamental principle of quantum mechanics. In classical mechanics, things like position or momentum are always well-defined. We may not know what they are at any given time, but that is an issue of our understanding and not the physical system. In quantum mechanics, a particle can be in a superposition of different states. However, a measurement always finds it in one state, but before and after the measurement, it interacts in ways that can only be explained by having a superposition of different states.
Wiener processIn mathematics, the Wiener process is a real-valued continuous-time stochastic process named in honor of American mathematician Norbert Wiener for his investigations on the mathematical properties of the one-dimensional Brownian motion. It is often also called Brownian motion due to its historical connection with the physical process of the same name originally observed by Scottish botanist Robert Brown.
Partition function (statistical mechanics)In physics, a partition function describes the statistical properties of a system in thermodynamic equilibrium. Partition functions are functions of the thermodynamic state variables, such as the temperature and volume. Most of the aggregate thermodynamic variables of the system, such as the total energy, free energy, entropy, and pressure, can be expressed in terms of the partition function or its derivatives. The partition function is dimensionless.
Renormalization groupIn theoretical physics, the term renormalization group (RG) refers to a formal apparatus that allows systematic investigation of the changes of a physical system as viewed at different scales. In particle physics, it reflects the changes in the underlying force laws (codified in a quantum field theory) as the energy scale at which physical processes occur varies, energy/momentum and resolution distance scales being effectively conjugate under the uncertainty principle. A change in scale is called a scale transformation.
Equations of motionIn physics, equations of motion are equations that describe the behavior of a physical system in terms of its motion as a function of time. More specifically, the equations of motion describe the behavior of a physical system as a set of mathematical functions in terms of dynamic variables. These variables are usually spatial coordinates and time, but may include momentum components. The most general choice are generalized coordinates which can be any convenient variables characteristic of the physical system.
Functional (mathematics)In mathematics, a functional (as a noun) is a certain type of function. The exact definition of the term varies depending on the subfield (and sometimes even the author). In linear algebra, it is synonymous with linear forms, which are linear mappings from a vector space into its field of scalars (that is, they are elements of the dual space ) In functional analysis and related fields, it refers more generally to a mapping from a space into the field of real or complex numbers.
Source fieldIn theoretical physics, a source field is a background field coupled to the original field as This term appears in the action in Feynman's path integral formulation and responsible for the theory interactions. In Schwinger's formulation the source is responsible for creating or destroying (detecting) particles. In a collision reaction a source could the other particles in the collision. Therefore, the source appears in the vacuum amplitude acting from both sides on Green function correlator of the theory.
S-matrixIn physics, the S-matrix or scattering matrix relates the initial state and the final state of a physical system undergoing a scattering process. It is used in quantum mechanics, scattering theory and quantum field theory (QFT). More formally, in the context of QFT, the S-matrix is defined as the unitary matrix connecting sets of asymptotically free particle states (the in-states and the out-states) in the Hilbert space of physical states.
WKB approximationIn mathematical physics, the WKB approximation or WKB method is a method for finding approximate solutions to linear differential equations with spatially varying coefficients. It is typically used for a semiclassical calculation in quantum mechanics in which the wavefunction is recast as an exponential function, semiclassically expanded, and then either the amplitude or the phase is taken to be changing slowly. The name is an initialism for Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin. It is also known as the LG or Liouville–Green method.
