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Viewing Quantum Charge from the Classical Vantage Point
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 June 2022
Abstract
This article demonstrates the benefit of studying a classical version of chromodynamics in order to better understand color charge in quantum chromodynamics. Standard presentations of the conservation and confinement of color charge serve to obscure the Lie-algebra-valued character of the conserved Noether charge. This article shows how we can remove these obscuring factors by studying color charge from the vantage point of classical chromodynamics. This key example of color charge illustrates the larger methodological benefit of this classical vantage point: interpreting classical gauge theories helps to delineate the uniquely quantum features of quantum field theories.
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- Symposia Paper
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- Copyright
- © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Philosophy of Science Association
Footnotes
I would like to thank Dave Boozer, Mark Mace, John Norton, Jim Weatherall, and David Wallace for helpful discussions on topics discussed in the article. I would also like to thank Benjamin Feintzeig, Joshua Rosaler, and Jeremy Steeger for a stimulating symposium.