Thermal field theory
The thermal quantum field theory or thermal field theory for short is a field of physics . It describes elementary particle physics at temperatures that are higher than absolute zero . To this end, thermal field theory combines quantum field theory and statistical physics ; alternatively, the thermal field theory can also be seen as the union of quantum statistics with the special theory of relativity .
The statements of the thermal field theory are needed in cosmology , among other things , because in the early days of the universe there were high particle densities , high temperatures and high particle energies , so that the description of physics at that time required a unification of all sub-areas of thermal field theory in a comprehensive theory power. A thermal field theory was first fully described in 1960 by Alexander Ilyich Achijeser and Sergei Wladimirowitsch Peletminski .
One of the most important statements of the thermal field theory is that the Higgs mechanism , which is responsible for the masses of the elementary particles, is canceled at sufficiently high temperatures , analogous to the cancellation of the magnetization of a ferromagnet above the Curie temperature .
Individual evidence
- ↑ IA Akhiezer, SV Peletminskii: Use of the Methods of Quantum Field Theory for the Investigation of the Thermodynamical Properties of a Gas of Electrons and Photons . In: Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics . tape 11 , no. 6 , 1960, pp. 1316-1322 (English).
- ↑ Steven Weinberg: Gauge and global symmetries at high temperature . In: Physical Review D . tape 9 , no. 12 , 1974, p. 3357-3378 (English).