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Why Feynman Diagrams Are So Important | Quanta Magazine

QUANTIZED

HowFeynmanDiagramsAlmostSavedSpace
RichardFeynman'sfamousdiagramsembodyadeepshiftinthinkingabout
howtheuniverseisputtogether.

James O'Brien for Quanta Magazine

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By Frank Wilczek
July 5, 2016

ichardFeynmanlookedtiredwhenhewanderedintomyoffice.Itwastheend
ofalong,exhaustingdayinSantaBarbara,sometimearound1982.Eventshad
includedaseminarthatwasalsoaperformance,lunchtimegrillingbyeager
postdocs,andlivelydiscussionswithseniorresearchers.Thelifeofacelebrated
physicistisalwaysintense.Butourvisitorstillwantedtotalkphysics.Wehada
coupleofhourstofillbeforedinner.
IdescribedtoFeynmanwhatIthoughtwereexcitingifspeculativenewideassuch
asfractionalspinandanyons.Feynmanwasunimpressed,saying:Wilczek,you
shouldworkonsomethingreal.(Anyonsarereal,butthatsatopicforanother
post.)
Quantized
A monthly column in which top researchers explore the process of discovery. This months
columnist, Frank Wilczek, is a Nobel Prize-winning physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.

Lookingtobreaktheawkwardsilencethatfollowed,IaskedFeynmanthemost
disturbingquestioninphysics,thenasnow:TheressomethingelseIvebeen
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thinkingalotabout:Whydoesntemptyspaceweighanything?
Feynman,normallyasquickandlivelyastheycome,wentsilent.Itwastheonly
timeIveeverseenhimlookwistful.Finallyhesaiddreamily,IoncethoughtIhad
thatonefiguredout.Itwasbeautiful.Andthen,excited,hebegananexplanation
thatcrescendoedinanearshout:Thereasonspacedoesntweighanything,I
thought,isbecausetheresnothingthere!
Toappreciatethatsurrealmonologue,youneedtoknowsomebackstory.Itinvolves
thedistinctionbetweenvacuumandvoid.
Vacuum,inmodernusage,iswhatyougetwhenyouremoveeverythingthatyou
can,whetherpracticallyorinprinciple.Wesayaregionofspacerealizesvacuum
ifitisfreeofallthedifferentkindsofparticlesandradiationweknowabout
(including,forthispurpose,darkmatterwhichweknowaboutinageneralway,
thoughnotindetail).Alternatively,vacuumisthestateofminimumenergy.
Intergalacticspaceisagoodapproximationtoavacuum.
Void,ontheotherhand,isatheoreticalidealization.Itmeansnothingness:space
withoutindependentproperties,whoseonlyrole,wemightsay,istokeepeverything
fromhappeninginthesameplace.Voidgivesparticlesaddresses,nothingmore.
AristotlefamouslyclaimedthatNatureabhorsavacuum,butImprettysurea
morecorrecttranslationwouldbeNatureabhorsavoid.IsaacNewtonappearedto
agreewhenhewrote:
thatoneBodymayactuponanotherataDistancethroaVacuum,without
theMediationofanythingelse,byandthroughwhichtheirActionandForce
maybeconveyedfromonetoanother,istomesogreatanAbsurdity,thatI
believenoManwhohasinphilosophicalMattersacompetentFacultyof
thinking,caneverfallintoit.
ButinNewtonsmasterpiece,thePrincipia,theplayersarebodiesthatexertforces
ononeanother.Space,thestage,isanemptyreceptacle.Ithasnolifeofitsown.In
Newtonianphysics,vacuumisavoid.
ThatNewtonianframeworkworkedbrilliantlyfornearlytwocenturies,asNewtons
equationsforgravitywentfromtriumphtotriumph,and(atfirst)theanalogousones
forelectricandmagneticforcesseemedtodosoaswell.Butinthe19thcentury,as
peopleinvestigatedthephenomenaofelectricityandmagnetismmoreclosely,
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Newtonstyleequationsproved
inadequate.InJamesClerkMaxwells
equations,thefruitofthatwork,
electromagneticfieldsnotseparated
bodiesaretheprimaryobjectsof
reality.

Katherine Taylor for Quanta Magazine

Frank Wilczek

QuantumtheoryamplifiedMaxwells
revolution.Accordingtoquantum
theory,particlesaremerelybubblesof
froth,kickedupbyunderlyingfields.
Photons,forexample,aredisturbances
inelectromagneticfields.

Asayoungscientist,Feynmanfoundthatviewtooartificial.Hewantedtobring
backNewtonsapproachandworkdirectlywiththeparticlesweactuallyperceive.
Indoingso,hehopedtochallengehiddenassumptionsandreachasimpler
descriptionofnatureandtoavoidabigproblemthattheswitchtoquantumfields
hadcreated.
II.
Inquantumtheory,fieldshavealotofspontaneousactivity.Theyfluctuatein
intensityanddirection.Andwhiletheaveragevalueoftheelectricfieldinavacuum
iszero,theaveragevalueofitssquareisnotzero.Thatssignificantbecausethe
energydensityinanelectricfieldisproportionaltothefieldssquare.Theenergy
densityvalue,infact,isinfinite.
Thespontaneousactivityofquantumfieldsgoesbyseveraldifferentnames:
quantumfluctuations,virtualparticles,orzeropointmotion.Therearesubtle
differencesintheconnotationsoftheseexpressions,buttheyallrefertothesame
phenomenon.Whateveryoucallit,theactivityinvolvesenergy.Lotsofenergyin
fact,aninfiniteamount.
Formostpurposeswecanleavethatdisturbinginfinityoutofconsideration.Only
changesinenergyareobservable.Andbecausezeropointmotionisanintrinsic
characteristicofquantumfields,changesinenergy,inresponsetoexternalevents,
aregenerallyfinite.Wecancalculatethem.Theygiverisetosomeveryinteresting
effects,suchastheLambshiftofatomicspectrallinesandtheCasimirforce
betweenneutralconductingplates,whichhavebeenobservedexperimentally.Far
frombeingproblematic,thoseeffectsaretriumphsforquantumfieldtheory.
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Theexceptionisgravity.Gravityrespondstoallkindsofenergy,whateverformthat
energymaytake.Sotheinfiniteenergydensityassociatedwiththeactivityof
quantumfields,presenteveninavacuum,becomesabigproblemwhenweconsider
itseffectongravity.
Inprinciple,thosequantumfieldsshouldmakethevacuumheavy.Yetexperiments
tellusthatthegravitationalpullofthevacuumisquitesmall.Untilrecentlysee
moreonthisbelowwethoughtitwaszero.
PerhapsFeynmansconceptualswitchfromfieldstoparticleswouldavoidthe
problem.
III.
Feynmanstartedfromscratch,drawingpictureswhosestickfigurelinesshowlinks
ofinfluencebetweenparticles.ThefirstpublishedFeynmandiagramappearedin
PhysicalReviewin1949:

Olena Shmahalo/Quanta Magazine

Two electrons exchange a photon.

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Tounderstandhowoneelectroninfluencesanother,usingFeynmandiagrams,you
havetoimaginethattheelectrons,astheymovethroughspaceandevolveintime,
exchangeaphoton,herelabeledvirtualquantum.Thisisthesimplestpossibility.
Itisalsopossibletoexchangetwoormorephotons,andFeynmanmadesimilar
diagramsforthat.Thosediagramscontributeanotherpiecetotheanswer,modifying
theclassicalCoulombforcelaw.Bysproutinganothersquiggle,andlettingitextend
freelyintothefuture,yourepresenthowanelectronradiatesaphoton.Andso,step
bystep,youcandescribecomplexphysicalprocesses,assembledlikeTinkertoys
fromverysimpleingredients.
Feynmandiagramslooktobepicturesofprocessesthathappeninspaceandtime,
andinasensetheyare,buttheyshouldnotbeinterpretedtooliterally.Whatthey
showarenotrigidgeometrictrajectories,butmoreflexible,topological
constructions,reflectingquantumuncertainty.Inotherwords,youcanbequite
sloppyabouttheshapeandconfigurationofthelinesandsquiggles,aslongasyou
gettheconnectionsright.
Feynmanfoundthathecouldattachasimplemathematicalformulatoeachdiagram.
Theformulaexpressesthelikelihoodoftheprocessthediagramdepicts.Hefound
thatinsimplecaseshegotthesameanswersthatpeoplehadobtainedmuchmore
laboriouslyusingfieldswhentheyletfrothinteractwithfroth.
ThatswhatFeynmanmeantwhenhesaid,Theresnothingthere.Byremovingthe
fields,hedgottenridoftheircontributiontogravity,whichhadledtoabsurdities.
Hethoughthedfoundanewapproachtofundamentalinteractionsthatwasnotonly
simplerthantheconventionalone,butalsosounder.Itwasabeautifulnewwayto
thinkaboutfundamentalprocesses.
IV.
Sadly,firstappearancesproveddeceptive.Asheworkedthingsoutfurther,Feynman
discoveredthathisapproachhadasimilarproblemtotheoneitwassupposedto
solve.Youcanseethisinthepicturesbelow.WecandrawFeynmandiagramsthat
arecompletelyselfcontained,withoutparticlestoinitiatetheevents(ortoflowout
fromthem).Thesesocalleddisconnectedgraphs,orvacuumbubbles,arethe
Feynmandiagramanalogueofzeropointmotion.Youcandrawdiagramsforhow
virtualquantaaffectgravitons,andtherebyrediscoverthemorbidobesityof
emptyspace.

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Olena Shmahalo/Quanta Magazine

A graviton encounters a quantum

fluctuation.

Moregenerally,asheworkedthingsoutfurther,Feynmangraduallyrealizedand
thenprovedthathisdiagrammethodisnotatruealternativetothefield
approach,butratheranapproximationtoit.ToFeynman,thatcameasabitter
disappointment.
YetFeynmandiagramsremainatreasuredassetinphysics,becausetheyoften
providegoodapproximationstoreality.Plus,theyreeasy(andfun)toworkwith.
Theyhelpusbringourpowersofvisualimaginationtobearonworldswecant
actuallysee.
ThecalculationsthateventuallygotmeaNobelPrizein2004wouldhavebeen
literallyunthinkablewithoutFeynmandiagrams,aswouldmycalculationsthat
establishedaroutetoproductionandobservationoftheHiggsparticle.

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Olena Shmahalo/Quanta Magazine

One way that the Higgs particle

can be produced and then decay
into daughter particles.

OnthatdayinSantaBarbara,citingthoseexamples,ItoldFeynmanhowimportant
hisdiagramshadbeentomeinmywork.Heseemedpleased,thoughhecould
hardlyhavebeensurprisedathisdiagramsimportance.Yeah,thatsthegoodpart,
seeingpeopleusethem,seeingthemeverywhere,herepliedwithawink.
V.
TheFeynmandiagramrepresentationofaprocessismostusefulwhenafew
relativelysimplediagramssupplymostoftheanswer.Thatistheregimephysicists
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callweakcoupling,whereeachadditionalcomplicatinglineisrelativelyrare.That
isalmostalwaysthecaseforphotonsinquantumelectrodynamics(QED),the
applicationFeynmanoriginallyhadinmind.QEDcoversmostofatomicphysics,
chemistryandmaterialsscience,soitsanamazingachievementtocaptureits
essenceinafewsquiggles.
Asanapproachtothestrongnuclearforce,however,thisstrategyfails.Herethe
governingtheoryisquantumchromodynamics(QCD).TheQCDanaloguesof
photonsareparticlescalledcolorgluons,andtheircouplingisnotweak.Usually,
whenwedoacalculationinQCD,ahostofcomplicatedFeynmandiagrams
festoonedwithmanygluonlinesmakeimportantcontributionstotheanswer.Its
impractical(andprobablyimpossible)toaddthemallup.
Ontheotherhand,withmoderncomputerswecangobacktothetrulyfundamental
fieldequationsandcalculatefluctuationsinthequarkandgluonfieldsdirectly.This
approachgivesbeautifulpicturesofanotherkind:

Animation courtesy Derek Leinweber.

Gluon activity in a vacuum.

Inrecentyearsthisdirectapproach,carriedoutonbanksofsupercomputers,hasled
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tosuccessfulcalculationsofthemassesofprotonsandneutrons.Inthecomingyears
itwillrevolutionizeourquantitativeunderstandingofnuclearphysicsoverabroad
front.
VI.
ThepuzzleFeynmanthoughthedsolvedisstillwithus,thoughithasevolvedin
manyways.
Thebiggestchangeisthatpeoplehavenowmeasuredthedensityofvacuummore
precisely,anddiscoveredthatitdoesnotvanish.Itisthesocalleddarkenergy.
(DarkenergyisessentiallyuptoanumericalfactorthesamethingEinstein
calledthecosmologicalconstant.)Ifyouaverageitovertheentireuniverse,you
findthatdarkenergycontributesabout70percentofthetotalmassintheuniverse.
Thatsoundsimpressive,butforphysiciststhebigpuzzlethatremainsiswhyits
densityisassmallasitis.Foronething,youllremember,itwassupposedtobe
infinite,duetothecontributionoffluctuatingfields.Onebitofpossibleprogressis
thatnowweknowawaytoescapethatinfinity.Itturnsoutthatforoneclassof
fieldstechnically,thefieldsassociatedwithparticlescalledbosonstheenergy
densityispositiveinfinity,whileforanotherclassoffieldsthoseassociatedwith
particlescalledfermionstheenergydensityisnegativeinfinity.Soiftheuniverse
containsanartfullybalancedmixofbosonsandfermions,theinfinitiescancancel.
Supersymmetrictheories,whichalsohaveseveralotherattractivefeatures,achieve
thatcancellation.
Anotherthingwevelearnedisthatinadditiontofluctuatingfields,thevacuum
containsnonfluctuatingfields,oftencalledcondensates.Onesuchcondensateis
thesocalledsigmacondensateanotheristheHiggscondensate.Thosetwoare
firmlyestablishedtheremaybemanyothersyettobediscovered.Ifyouwantto
thinkofafamiliaranalogue,imagineEarthsmagneticorgravitationalfield,
elevatedtocosmicproportions(andfreedofEarth).Thesecondensatesshouldalso
weighsomething.Indeed,simpleestimatesoftheirdensitygivevaluesfarlarger
thanthatoftheobserveddarkenergy.
Wereleftwithanestimateofthedarkenergythatisfinite(maybe),butpoorly
determinedtheoreticallyand,onthefaceofit,muchtoobig.Presumablythereare
additionalcancellationswedontknowabout.Themostpopularidea,atpresent,is
thatthesmallnessofthedarkenergyisakindofrareaccident,whichhappensto
occurinourparticularcornerofthemultiverse.Thoughunlikelyapriori,itis
necessaryforourexistence,andthereforewhatwearefatedtoobserve.
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Thatstory,Imafraid,isnotnearlysoelegantasFeynmansTheresnothingthere!
Letshopewecanfindabetterone.

ForanyoneinterestedinlearningmoreaboutFeynmandiagramsandquantum
electrodynamics,theauthorrecommendsFeynmansbookQED:TheStrangeTheory
ofLightandMatter.
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