Does it make sense to talk about "conservative" potentials and forces in (quantum) field theory?
If yes, to what extent? Is (for example) the weak force conservative and what would it mean physically?
Asked
Active
Viewed 454 times
1 Answers
2
It does not really make sense to talk about the weak (or strong) force in terms of classical forces since they rarely are relevant in regimes where one could neglect quantum effects.
However, formally, the non-relativistic "classical" limit of the weak force (in the same sense that the limit of quantum electrodynamics has the Coulomb potential, as sketched in this answer of mine) is a Yukawa potential, which, being a potential, means it's a conservative force since one of the equivalent conditions of a force being conservative is "having a potential".
ACuriousMind
- 124,833
-
Does a field stop being conservative when there is a time dependence involved? E.g. when we introduce $A$ in $E = -\nabla \phi +\frac{\partial \mathbf{A}}{\partial t}$? – SuperCiocia Oct 28 '17 at 19:20
-
hello? still there? – SuperCiocia Nov 22 '17 at 01:22