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Infrared Cancellation and Measurement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Michael E. Miller
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Abstract

Quantum field theories containing massless particles are divergent not just in the ultraviolet but also in the infrared. Infrared divergences are typically regarded as less conceptually problematic than ultraviolet divergences because there is a cancellation mechanism that renders measurable physical observables such as decay rates and cross-sections infrared finite. In this article, I scrutinize the restriction to measurable physical observables that is required to arrive at infrared finite results. I argue that the restriction does not necessitate a retreat to operationalism about the meaning of the theory, but it does call attention to underappreciated features of the infrared regime.

Type
Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 88 , Issue 5 , December 2021 , pp. 1125 - 1136
Copyright
Copyright 2021 by the Philosophy of Science Association. All rights reserved.

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Footnotes

†

I am thankful to David Albert, Sean Carroll, John Dougherty, Kerry McKenzie, Chip Sebens, Porter Williams, and audiences at Columbia and Caltech for helpful discussion. This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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