Physics:Quantum Yang-Mills field: Difference between revisions
Apply Quantum previous-next navigation |
Apply continuous Quantum previous-next navigation |
||
| (2 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Quantum article nav|previous=Physics:Quantum Higgs field|previous label=Higgs field|next=Physics:Quantum photon field|next label=Photon field}} | {{Quantum article nav|previous=Physics:Quantum Higgs field|previous label=Higgs field|next=Physics:Quantum photon field|next label=Photon field}} | ||
| |||
| |||
| |||
{{Short description|Non-Abelian gauge field used in modern field theory}} | {{Short description|Non-Abelian gauge field used in modern field theory}} | ||
Latest revision as of 22:06, 20 May 2026
Yang-Mills field is a Book II topic in the Quantum Collection. A quantum Yang-Mills field is a non-Abelian gauge field: a field associated with a symmetry group whose generators do not all commute. Yang-Mills fields generalize electromagnetism and are essential for the strong interaction, the weak interaction, and the structure of the Standard Model. Unlike the electromagnetic field, non-Abelian gauge fields can interact directly with themselves. A quantum Yang-Mills field is a non-Abelian gauge field: a field associated with a symmetry group whose generators do not all commute. Yang-Mills fields generalize electromagnetism and are essential for the strong interaction, the weak interaction, and the structure of the Standard Model. Unlike the electromagnetic field, non-Abelian gauge fields can interact directly with themselves.
Gauge symmetry
Yang-Mills theory begins with local gauge symmetry. The gauge field is introduced so that the theory remains consistent when internal symmetry transformations vary from point to point in spacetime.[1]
Self-interaction
Because the underlying symmetry is non-Abelian, the field strength contains terms in which gauge fields multiply one another. This produces self-interactions that are absent in ordinary Abelian electromagnetism.[2]
Physical examples
Quantum chromodynamics is a Yang-Mills theory based on color SU(3), with gluon fields as its gauge fields. The electroweak theory also uses non-Abelian gauge fields before symmetry breaking separates the observed photon, W, and Z bosons.[3]
Description
Yang-Mills field is a matter-scale concept used to organize how quantum theory describes atoms, particles, fields, condensed matter, plasma, or spacetime-related systems. In the Quantum Collection it is placed by scale so the reader can move from materials and molecules down to subatomic degrees of freedom.
Quantum context
At this scale, the relevant behavior is controlled by quantized states, interactions, conservation laws, and the way excitations or particles are observed. The concept is normally linked to measurable properties such as energy, momentum, charge, spin, spectra, scattering rates, or collective modes.
Role in the collection
This page provides a compact reference point for related pages in Book II. It should be read together with nearby matter-scale topics and the corresponding foundations in quantum mechanics.[4]
See also
Table of contents (84 articles)
Index
Full contents
References
- ↑ Schwartz, Matthew D. (2014). Quantum Field Theory and the Standard Model. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-03473-0.
- ↑ "Yang-Mills theory". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang%E2%80%93Mills_theory.
- ↑ "Review of Particle Physics". Physical Review D 110 (3): 030001. 2024. DOI 10.1103/PhysRevD.110.030001.
- ↑ "Quantum mechanics". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics.
Source attribution: Physics:Quantum Yang-Mills field