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Provides the framework for many fundamental theories in modern physics, and over the last few years the growing interest in its historical and philosophical foundations. Suited for anyone with an interest in the foundations of quantum physics.
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Ontological Aspects of Quantum Field Theory edited Meinard Kuhlmann H o Iger Andrew by Lyre Wayne World Scientific Ontological Aspects of Quantum Field Theory This page is intentionally left blank Ontological Aspects of Quantum Field Theory edited by Meinard Kuhlmann Department of Philosophy, University of Bremen Holger Lyre Philosophy Department, University of Bonn Andrew Wayne Department of Philosophy, Concordia University VkS% World Scientific wb Sine New Jersey • London • Singapore • Hong Kong Published by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. P O Box 128, Farrer Road, Singapore 912805 USA office: Suite IB, 1060 Main Street, River Edge, NJ 07661 UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ONTOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF QUANTUM FIELD THEORY Copyright © 2002 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the Publisher. For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to photocopy is not required from the publisher. ISBN 981-238-182-1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Printed in Singapore by Mainland Press Preface Quantum field theory (QFT) supplies the framework for many fundamental theories in modern physics. Over the last few years there has been increasing interest in ontological aspects of these theories, that is, in investigating what the subatomic world might be like if QFTs were true. Is this a world populated by localizable particles? Or is it best understood as composed of interacting processes? How should we interpret certain non-gauge-invariant structures in QFTs such as ghost fields and antifields? Essays in this volume investigate ontological aspects of QFTs using a variety of physical and philosophical concepts and methods. Although the focus is ontology, these investigations touch on a broad range of topics, from the most general questions of metaphysics to the most minute conceptual puzzles of particular QFTs. Many of these essays were first presented as papers at the conference "Ontological Aspects of Quantum Field Theory" held at the Zentrum fur interdisziplinare Forschung (Center for Interdisciplinary Research, ZiF), Bielefeld, Germany, in October 1999. This conference brought together physicists, philosophers of physics and philosophers interested in ontology. By all lights the conference was immensely fruitful, in large part because it was successful in promoting a dialogue among participants from diverse disciplinary background. The aim of the present volume is to give contributors an opportunity to advance the dialogue begun at the conference, while at the same time reaching a wider audience. For this reason papers are, as far as possible, written in a way accessible to physicists, philosophers and a general science readership. We thank the University of Chicago Press for permission to reprint H. vi Halvorson and R. Clifton's contribution to this volume. We thank Craig Smith for his assistance in the preparation of t