You are on page 1of 4

This article was downloaded by: [Ignazio Licata]

On: 12 May 2014, At: 06:26


Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,
37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Contemporary Physics
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tcph20

In search of the quantum oneness


a
Ignazio Licata
a
ISEM, Palermo, Italy
Published online: 08 May 2014.

Click for updates

To cite this article: Ignazio Licata (2014): In search of the quantum oneness, Contemporary Physics, DOI:
10.1080/00107514.2014.915239

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00107514.2014.915239

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained
in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no
representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the
Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and
are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and
should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for
any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever
or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of
the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic
reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any
form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://
www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
Contemporary Physics, 2014
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00107514.2014.915239

ESSAY REVIEW
In search of the quantum oneness
Ignazio Licata
ISEM, Palermo, Italy

Quantum Field Theory and Its Macroscopic Manifes- Dell’Antonio and Umezawa established that the map
tations: Boson Condensation, Ordered Patterns and between Heisenberg fields which determine the dynam-
Topological Defects, by Massimo Blasone, Petr Jizba and ics, and asymptotic fields which define the observables,
Giuseppe Vitiello, London, Imperial College Press (World is a ‘weak map’. In other words, the constructive rich-
Scientific), 2011, 544 + 18 pp., £105.00, (hardback), ISBN ness of the quantum vacuum began to reveal itself, being
978-1-84-816280-8. Scope: review. Level: scientist. linked precisely to the existence of an infinite number of
different possible representations of the same system
Quantum Field Theory (QFT) has experienced a rather which are not physically equivalent to each other (for a
Downloaded by [Ignazio Licata] at 06:26 12 May 2014

strange historical destiny. It can be said that its ‘ad usum discussion upon the methodological consequences of
particellarum’ successes, based upon a ‘local’ perturba- these theorems see Refs. [3–5]).
tional approach, have for the most part obscured the Each of these representations can be interpreted as a
philosophical possibilities of appreciating, beyond any particular ‘phase’ of the system considered. This fact
specific ‘technical’ problems, the robust unitary concep- suggests that QFT constitutes an ideal framework for
tual fabric of its theoretical structure and the possibility of building a general theory of phase transitions and emer-
presenting itself as an ‘effective’ Theory of Everything – gence which can connect in a non-trivial manner the
the only one which can still boast a direct and natural microscopic structure of a system, its complex vicissi-
connection with experiment and offer a general vision of tudes in its mesoscopic ‘middle way’ and its observable
the physical world, as long as it is ‘read’ in the broadest macroscopic manifestations. Of course, in order to fully
sense as is generally the case for those who use it in the implement such a programme, one must build a suitable
field of particle physics. Here lies the revolutionary pro- generalisation of QFT which can offer full citizenship
gramme, the innovative route, which this book intends to not only to ‘events’ (the asymptotic states which are so
explore, and which is already on the road towards becom- important in particle physics) but also to ‘processes’, i.e.
ing an ‘evergreen’ like its ideal predecessor, the classic by vast networks of configurations of non-local correlations
Hiroomi Umezawa, Advanced Field Theory: Micro, in situations far from equilibrium within a dynamic inter-
Macro, and Thermal Physics, American Institute of Phys- play between system and environment, where noise has
ics, 1993, Springer-Verlag GmbH, 1995. For the historical a decisive role. In principle, such a theory could include
details of the intellectual genealogy between the great a vast number of phenomena which not only ‘tradition-
Japanese theoretician and one of the authors of this book ally’ belong to ‘hard’ physics (such as superconductors,
(Giuseppe Vitiello) see ‘Hiroomi Umezawa and quantum ferromagnets, crystals and solitons, with scales ranging
field theory’ by G. Vitiello in NeuroQuantology, Vol. 9, from neutrino physics to cosmology), but also a wide
issue 3, pp. 402–412. range of biological, economic and social processes
A formidable series of theorems, from the work of whose structural dynamics could fall within this
Von Hove in the early 1950s, followed by Haag in 1961 ‘extended syntax’ of QFT and which could, therefore, be
[1] and up to that of Hepp in 1971 [2], placed doubt described in terms of symmetry breaking and emergence
upon that which seemed to be the reassuring cornerstone of condensed states with long-range correlations, a devel-
of the theory: the possibility of a clear and univocal per- opment foreshadowed in part by the theory of complex
turbative mapping between the free Hamiltonian H0 of a networks whose points of contact with QFT are continu-
system and the fully perturbed Hamiltonian H. In reality, ally increasing. The earliest examples of this new
these were the first signs of a diverse enrichment of the interdisciplinary phase of QFT include work on Brain
theory. The Lehman–Symanzik–Zimmermann (LSZ) for- Dynamics by Vitiello and Freeman and that on the for-
malism states that every field theory must be readable in mation of coherence domains in biological matters by
terms of asymptotic states with a well-defined quantum Vitiello, del Giudice and Preparata. An approach imple-
number (‘particles’). In an unpublished note from 1964 menting a global description of system–environment
[one of the historical treasures revealed in this book], relations without changing too much the traditional
2 I. Licata

framework of Theory of Quantum Systems and Complex It is often noted in this book that not only is QFT not
Systems (TQC) is dissipative field theory, which is gen- ‘just’ QM extended to an infinite number of degrees of
erally followed in this book. freedom, but rather it is precisely the famous von
In the case of the simplest interaction, a dissipative Neumann theorem, on the unitary equivalence of irreduc-
environment absorbs all the energy lost by the system, ible representations of the canonical commutation – thus
both being then unified into a larger system, in which a similar and opposite role to the Haag theorem in QFT –
energy is globally conserved. This allows the use of which makes QM structurally inadequate to characterise
the traditional mechanisms of TQC, whilst bearing in the variety of non-equivalent phases of a system, a ques-
mind that every system, in the presence of dissipation, tion now coming increasingly to the fore through the dif-
is closely associated with its double, that is with ficult paths being taken towards the construction of a
another system, a verified copy of that studied, which quantum biology [7]. Rather, the opposite way should be
absorbs exactly the quantity of energy lost by the followed, that of obtaining the semi-classical language of
system being studied. The ‘double’ is not an objective QM (waves and particles!) from QFT (neither waves nor
representation of its environment, it is simply how the particles, but dynamical generation of collective field
environment appears to the system, when considered modes). Moving in completely the opposite direction to
only in terms of energy. Obviously the system and its that of the still thriving and often self-referential business
double interact, and since this interaction conserves the of ‘interpretations of QM’, the authors clearly align them-
overall energy, standard methods of TQC can be used selves with the late G. Preparata, who saw QFT as the
without problems to describe the evolution of a system only possible ‘realist reading’ of QM:
Downloaded by [Ignazio Licata] at 06:26 12 May 2014

in the presence of dissipation. An extension of this


approach to study the interaction of a system with any There is only one reason for the unacceptable subjectiv-
kind of environment obviously presents technical prob- ism which permeates the generally accepted interpreta-
tion of quantum mechanics, based upon the ideas of
lems, which represent the immediate future of this ‘sys- Niels Bohr and the School of Copenhagen: quantum
temic’ direction of QFT. The conceptually important mechanics is not a complete theory of reality (…) For its
point to understand is that the existence of unitarily in- completion it must be abandoned accepting that Quan-
equivalent representations finds its natural physical tum Field Theory (QFT) is the only description of real-
meaning in the fact that isolated systems do not exist, ity, for which quantum mechanics is merely an
approximation, being limited to the analysis of quantum
and, therefore, QFT is intrinsically a thermal theory processes in space-time regions where there is a good
where the ability to define coherence, decoherence and chance of finding a single quantum of the relative wave
entropy depends upon the nature of the system and of field [8].
its ‘double’, which we identify as ‘environment’ [6].
Another frontier issue concerns what may be called In agreement with Cini and Preparata, the recent
quantum frozen accidents, situations in which classical experiment by Afshar [9] does not ‘demolish’ or
behaviours coexist with quantum field dynamics – for ‘bypass’ Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, but rather
example, topological defects and fractal structures – frames it within its ‘natural’ QFT version, which links
which can limit a finite number of degrees of freedom number of quanta with field phase. All of this strikes a
and thus ‘drive’ processes of morphogenesis towards blow against a purely atomistic vision of the physical
the meso- and macroscopic ranges. world – ‘although necessary’, the authors stress – which
This book explores the state of the art of dissipative should be completed and integrated with a more complex
QFT (using operator and functional formalism, depend- relationship between structure and dynamics, intimately
ing upon the emphasis placed, respectively, on the pro- connected to the very structure of QFT, an issue which
cess dynamics or the rearrangement of underlying re-proposes the problematics associated with the concept
symmetries), and does so with remarkable elegance, of ‘particle’ [10,11].
developing a rich landscape with a strong unitary out- Some comments on the structure and contents of the
look based upon the themes of collective behaviour, con- book. The dominant key is the existence of infinitely
densation, dissipation and symmetry breaking. Thus, it many unitarily inequivalent representations which make
shows convincingly that QFT is a powerful key to possible to introduce in a natural way the phase of a
understanding in a systemic way the multifarious nature quantum system as the expression of a symmetry break-
of the manifestations of functional complexity. It is ing process of the Heisenberg fields (many grounded
impossible to enumerate in detail the various topics, but vacuum states) in their dynamic realisation (observables)
here, as we have taken an ‘epistemological’ approach, at under suitable boundary conditions (e.g. a parameter
least one other consequence of fundamental interest variation). In other words, thermodynamics comes into
derived from this approach must be cited, that of the play as a characterisation of the vacuum rich ‘construc-
relationship between QM and QFT. tive ability!’ The first three chapters can be considered
Contemporary Physics 3

as a complete and elegant exploration of the theoretical topics gathered here together for the first time. Mario Ra-
bases (Weyl –Heisenberg Algebra and its deformation, setti, one of the fathers of the dissipative quantum field,
Dynamical Maps, Goldstone Theorem and Symmetry wrote that a book ‘can at the same time be used as a
Breaking, generalised Coherent States). As for the textbook and as a book of dreams’. And although there
Fock–Bargman representation, the introduction of a self- is still some way to go to reach the dream of a quantum
similarity theory and fractals is particularly interesting. oneness, this book definitely indicates the right direction
This allows the development of meta-stable and stable towards it.
macroscopic manifestations in QFT as Dynamical Rear-
rangement by Nambu Goldstone condensation phenom-
ena out of fluctuating quantum fields. There follows
Acknowledgement
seven dense chapters with many appendices and selected
To our friend Emilio Del Giudice (1940–2014).
topics, which are mostly inspired by the author’s latest
research (Boson Condensation, Group Contraction,
Collective Behaviours, Trajectories in the Representation
Space, Geometric facets in Thermal Field Theory, Topo- References
logical Defects, Solitons). The essential idea is that the [1] R. Haag, Canonical commutation relations in Quantum
macroscopic systems around us are not quantum ones Field Theory and Functional Integration, in Lectures in
Theoretical Physics Vol. 3, W.E. Brittin, B.W. Downs and
because they are made of quantum components (the J. Downs, eds., Wiley, New York, 1961, pp. 353–381.
naïve idea of an ‘infinitely small!’), but because their
Downloaded by [Ignazio Licata] at 06:26 12 May 2014

[2] K. Hepp, Quantum theory of measurement and


origin, evolution and structure cannot be understood macroscopic observables, Helv. Phys. Acta. 45 (1972),
without taking into consideration the subtle interweaving pp. 237–248.
between local and non-local which only a QFT can fully [3] P.W. Anderson and D.L. Stein, Broken symmetry, emergent
properties, dissipative structures, life. Are they related?, in
account for. The future quantum biology will have to be Self Organizing Systems, F.E. Yates, ed., Plenum Press,
based on dissipative QFT and not on QM! The excellent New York, 1985, pp. 445–457.
chapter on ‘Dissipation and Quantization’ deserves a [4] A. Arageorgis, J. Earman, and L. Ruetsche, Weyling the
separate note. There, the structure of non-commutative time away: the non-unitary implementability of quantum
geometries meets the physic reasons of dissipation, in a field dynamics on curved spacetime, Stud. Hist. Philos.
Mod. Phys. 33 (2002), pp. 151–184.
synthesis ranging from Neutrino mixing to Dissipative [5] I. Licata, Almost-anywhere theories: Reductionism and
Quantum Brain. Lately such theory – which extends the universality of emergence, Complexity 15(6) (2010),
classical and, we dare say, paradigmatic approach to the pp. 11–19.
application of Umezawa Many Body Physics [12] – has [6] J.F. Koksma, T. Prokopec, and M.G. Schmidt, Decoher-
been developed in a dissipative context by G. Vitiello ence in an Interacting Quantum Field Theory: The
Vacuum Case, Phys. Rev. D 81(065030) (2010), pp. 1–33.
and W. Freeman who have made cogent the comparison [7] M. Arndt, T. Juffmann, and V. Vedral, Quantum physics
between the theory and the observational data in neuro- meets biology, HFSP J. 3(6) (2009), pp. 386–400.
sciences [13,14]. [8] G. Preparata, An Introduction to a Realistic Quantum
You come to the end of the book with the idea that Physics, World Scientific, Singapore, 2002.
the power and elegance of QFT make it the ideal candi- [9] S.S. Afshar, Violation of Bohr’s complementarity: One slit
or both?, AIP Conf. Proc. 810 (2006), pp. 294–299.
date for the converging – still far, but rich of stimulating [10] D. Colosi and C. Rovelli, What is a particle?, arXiv:gr-
possibilities – between Theories of Everything (TOE) qc/0409054v2.
and Theories of Organisation (TOO), the overcoming of [11] E. Pessa, The concept of particle in Quantum Field
the dichotomies between micro/macro (by an exemplar Theory, in Vision of Oneness, I. Licata and A. Sakaji,
treating of the meso domain all the physicists of eds., Aracne Publisher, Rome, 2011, pp. 13–40.
[12] L.M. Ricciardi and H. Umezawa, Brain and physics of
complexity should take as an inspiration [5]), quantum/ many-body problems, Kybernetik 4 (1967), pp. 44–48.
classics, and finally between ‘fundamental’ and ‘phenom- [13] W.J. Freeman and G. Vitiello, Nonlinear brain dynamics
enological’, in a quantum oneness able to comprehend in as macroscopic manifestation of underlying many-body
a new synthesis both the old ‘bricks of the world’ and field dynamics, Phys. Life Rev. 3(2) (2006), pp. 93–118.
the enormous variety of its emergences. [14] W.J. Freeman and G. Vitiello, The dissipative quantum
model of brain and laboratory observations, in Physics of
A note on style. There are standard textbooks and Emergence and Organization, I. Licata and A. Sakaji,
extremely specialised books. The authors have managed eds., World Scientific, Singapore, 2008, pp. 233–251.
to avoid the Pillars of Hercules publishing a book which
combines rigour, charm and passion without losing the © 2014, Ignazio Licata
unity of the issues covered, despite the large number of

You might also like