Abstract
Abstract In contemporary theories of the structure of matter at very short distance scales, various properties (some of them hypothetical as yet) of the vacuum are of crucial importance. The technical framework for such studies is quantum field theory. The aim of this article is to provide access, for a non-specialist readership, to the physics of the vacuum as presently understood in quantum field theory. To do this, heavy reliance is placed on a fundamental analogy. The basic theoretical entity—the quantum field—is here regarded as analogous to a quantum-mechanical system with (infinitely) many degrees of freedom. A system of interacting quantum fields is then analogous to a complicated system in solid state physics; it can exist in different energy states, namely the ground state and various excited states. The excited states of the field system are characterized by the presence of excitation quanta, which are the particles (electrons, quarks, photons…) of which our material world is composed. In the g...
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