Feynman diagrams

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机翻，未校。

图片清晰度限于引文原状。

A beginner’s guide to Feynman diagrams

费曼图初学指南

In this extract from Ten Patterns That Explain The Universe, science writer Brian Clegg explains how Richard Feynman’s eponymous diagrams not only illustrate complex particle interactions, but can make calculations easier, too.

在这篇摘自《解释宇宙的十种模式》的文章中，科普作家布莱恩·克莱格解释了理查德·费曼那以其名字命名的图不仅能够阐释复杂的粒子相互作用，还能让计算变得更加简便。

Brian Clegg
Published: November 2, 2021 at 12:00 am

Quantum physics describes the workings of the Universe at the level of the tiny particles, such as electrons and photons of light, that make it up. Most of our everyday experiences come from the interaction of matter particles with each other and with light, which can be explained by quantum electrodynamics (QED).

量子物理学描述了宇宙在微小粒子层面的运行机制，这些微小粒子比如有构成宇宙的电子和光的光子。我们日常生活中的大多数体验都来自于物质粒子之间以及物质粒子与光之间的相互作用，而这些可以用量子电动力学（QED）来解释。

This detailed theory would win the Nobel Prize in Physics for Richard Feynman, Julian Schwinger, and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga. Much of their original thinking involved complex mathematics, as it was necessary to deal with a vast number of potential interactions, each with different probabilities.

这一详尽的理论为理查德·费曼、朱利安·施温格和朝永振一郎赢得了诺贝尔物理学奖。他们最初的很多思考都涉及到复杂的数学，因为有必要处理大量潜在的相互作用，而每一种相互作用都有不同的发生概率。

But Feynman realised that these interactions could be represented by simple diagrams – patterns that define the interplay of light and matter. Not only did they make QED more comprehensible, Feynman diagrams also provided a visual tool for making otherwise impossible calculations practical.

但费曼意识到，这些相互作用可以用简单的图表来表示——这些图表模式定义了光与物质之间的相互作用。费曼图不仅使量子电动力学更容易理解，还提供了一种可视化工具，使得原本不可能进行的计算变得可行。

Each diagram combines a series of lines where, for example, straight lines represent matter particles and wavy lines are photons. These are patterns in space-time, but they represent the interaction of particles. A simple example might show two electrons repelling each other electromagnetically, with a photon passing between them as a force carrier.

每一个图表都由一系列线条组成，例如，直线代表物质粒子，波浪线代表光子。这些是时空上的模式，但它们代表了粒子之间的相互作用。一个简单的例子可能是展示两个电子通过电磁力相互排斥，有一个光子作为力的载体在它们之间传递。

Feynman’s diagrams were necessary to reflect the strange behaviour of quantum particles, which bears no resemblance to the action of the physical objects that are made up of them. To see why the diagrams were so significant, we need to take a step back to what makes quantum physics appear so bizarre.

费曼图对于反映量子粒子的奇特行为是必要的，量子粒子的行为与由它们构成的物理对象的行为毫无相似之处。要明白这些图为什么如此重要，我们需要回过头来看看是什么让量子物理学看起来如此奇怪。

QED: Quantum electrodynamics

量子电动力学（QED）

Quantum physics began with Einstein’s realisation that photons were real, soon expanding to explain the structure of the atom. It is the science of the very small, where reality seems not to have the deterministic certainty of the world we typically observe, but rather probabilities dominate.

量子物理学始于爱因斯坦认识到光子是真实存在的，随后很快扩展到解释原子的结构。它是一门研究极微观世界的科学，在这个世界里，现实似乎不具备我们通常所观察到的世界那种确定性，而是概率起主导作用。

Quantum electrodynamics, which is where Feynman diagrams were first used, considers the interactions of quantum particles that are dependent on electromagnetism. In common usage, ‘electromagnetism’ sounds like it is just about electricity and magnetism, which in a sense it is. But we need to understand that it is responsible for the vast bulk of everyday interactions in the world that we experience.

量子电动力学是费曼图首次被应用的领域，它研究的是依赖于电磁力的量子粒子之间的相互作用。在日常使用中，“电磁力”听起来好像只是关于电和磁的，从某种意义上来说确实如此。但我们需要明白，它是我们所经历的世界中绝大多数日常相互作用的根源。

Light is an electromagnetic phenomenon. Similarly, most interactions between atoms is electromagnetic. So, for example, when you sit on a chair it is the electromagnetic force acting between the atoms of the chair and the atoms in your body that prevent your atoms from simply slipping past those in the chair.

光是一种电磁现象。同样地，原子之间的大多数相互作用也是电磁相互作用。例如，当你坐在椅子上时，正是椅子的原子和你身体里的原子之间的电磁力阻止了你的原子简单地从椅子的原子中穿过。

The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of the Universe. The other three are gravity, and the strong and weak interactions – these two forces are involved in the nucleus of atoms. We tend to think of gravity as pretty overwhelming, yet in fact it is by far the weakest of the four forces, billions of billions times weaker than electromagnetism.

电磁力是宇宙的四种基本力之一。另外三种力是引力、强力和弱相互作用力——这两种力与原子核有关。我们往往认为引力非常强大，然而事实上它是这四种力中最弱的，比电磁力弱数十亿倍。

If you doubt this, just think of a fridge magnet. The entire gravitational pull of Earth is attempting to pull it to the floor. All that holds it to the fridge is the electromagnetic force from its tiny magnet. The magnet wins.

如果你对此表示怀疑，那就想想冰箱贴。地球的整个引力都试图把它拉到地板上。而把它吸附在冰箱上的仅仅是它那小磁铁的电磁力。结果是磁铁获胜了。

Gravity is the weakest force – even a tiny fridge magnet can win against it © Getty Images

引力是最弱的力——即使是一个小小的冰箱贴也能战胜它。

In quantum theory, forces pass from place to place as a result of so-called force carriers – particles that travel between the two objects that are attracting or repelling each other. This is why, for example, a magnet can attract a piece of iron at a distance. Perhaps surprisingly, the force carrier of electromagnetism is a particle we have already met – the photon.

在量子理论中，力在不同地方之间传递是由于所谓的力的载体——在相互吸引或排斥的两个物体之间穿梭的粒子。这就是为什么，例如，磁铁能够在一定距离外吸引一块铁。也许令人惊讶的是，电磁力的载体是我们已经遇到过的一种粒子——光子。

We usually get introduced to the photon as the particle of light, but every time there is an electromagnetic interaction between matter particles a flow of ‘virtual photons’ between the particles produce the effect of a force. The term ‘virtual’ here is decidedly misleading. It sounds as if it means that the particles don’t exist. What it really refers to, though, is that the photons aren’t ever observed, as they pass from one particle to another without escaping.

我们通常所了解到的光子是作为光的粒子，但每当物质粒子之间发生电磁相互作用时，粒子之间的“虚光子”流就会产生力的效果。这里的“虚”这个词确实具有误导性。听起来好像是说这些粒子不存在。但实际上，它真正指的是这些光子从未被观测到，因为它们从一个粒子传递到另一个粒子而没有逸出。

As a result, nearly every electromagnetic interaction – which means nearly every interaction of matter not involving gravity – is the result of a matter particle emitting a photon, or a matter particle absorbing a photon, or both.

因此，几乎每一次电磁相互作用——这意味着几乎每一次不涉及引力的物质相互作用——都是一个物质粒子发射一个光子，或者一个物质粒子吸收一个光子，或者两者兼有的结果。

费曼图

A simple Feynman diagram, showing particles represented by straight lines and a photon represented by a wavy line. In this case, the vertical axis is space and the horizontal axis is time © Romainbehar, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

一个简单的费曼图，展示了用直线表示的粒子和用波浪线表示的光子。在这个图中，纵轴是空间，横轴是时间。

Feynman diagrams are designed as a way both to illustrate those electromagnetic interactions, and to explore and quantify the many variants that the strange nature of quantum physics provides that would not be expected otherwise.

费曼图被设计出来，既是为了阐释那些电磁相互作用，也是为了探索和量化由量子物理学的奇特性质所带来的许多意想不到的变体情况。

On the diagrams, matter particles are represented by straight lines and photons as wiggly lines. (There are other types of line when the use of the diagram is expanded beyond simple QED.) There is not a clear convention on which axis is time and space. Quite often, time is the vertical axis in a Feynman, but where it’s more convenient, it can be the horizontal axis instead.

在这些图中，物质粒子用直线表示，光子用波浪线表示。（当图表的应用扩展到简单的量子电动力学之外时，还有其他类型的线条。）对于哪条轴表示时间，哪条轴表示空间并没有一个明确的约定。在费曼图中，时间常常是纵轴，但在更方便的情况下，也可以是横轴。

The most common elements shown on such a diagram are that a photon travels from one location to another; a matter particle (at its simplest, an electron) travels from one place to another; or a matter particle gives off or absorbs a photon. Almost everything can be built up from these simple components.

在这样的图中最常见的元素是一个光子从一个位置传播到另一个位置；一个物质粒子（最简单的是一个电子）从一个地方移动到另一个地方；或者一个物质粒子发射或吸收一个光子。几乎所有的情况都可以由这些简单的组成部分构建出来。

But because of the oddities of quantum physics, an apparently simple action can result in a whole plethora of diagrams. Take an apparently simple example of two electrons moving. We know where they start and where they finish.

但由于量子物理学的奇特之处，一个看似简单的行为可能会产生大量的图表。举一个看似简单的例子，两个电子的移动。我们知道它们的起始位置和结束位置。

But how do they get from being located at A and B to being at C and D? The simplest possibility is the electron from A ends up at C, and that from B at D. Another probability is that the electron from A ends up at D and the one from B at C.

但是它们是如何从位于A和B的位置移动到C和D的位置的呢？最简单的可能性是来自A的电子最终到达C，来自B的电子最终到达D。另一种可能性是来自A的电子最终到达D，来自B的电子最终到达C。

Feynman diagrams for the possibilities of two particles starting at one location and ending at another without interacting. Each path is represented by a straight line from one point to another © Richard Palmer

Feynman diagrams for the possibilities of two particles starting at one location and ending at another without interacting © Richard Palmer

两个粒子从一个位置开始并在没有相互作用的情况下到达另一个位置的可能性的费曼图。

Note that we can’t tell which has happened as we don’t know the route the electrons took, nor do we know which electron is which. One of the definitive things about quantum particles, such as electrons, is that they have no distinguishing features. They are truly identical.

请注意，我们无法判断到底发生了哪种情况，因为我们不知道电子所走的路径，也不知道哪个电子是哪个。像电子这样的量子粒子的一个确定特征是，它们没有可区分的特征。它们是完全相同的。

That’s straightforward enough, but there are other possibilities. Electrons, like other quantum particles, can undergo a process known as scattering. This is often represented as one electron bouncing off the other, like a pair of balls on a snooker table. However, electrons are electrically charged particles, and electromagnetic interaction works through photons.

这已经够简单明了了，但还有其他可能性。电子和其他量子粒子一样，可以经历一种被称为散射的过程。这通常被表示为一个电子从另一个电子上弹开，就像斯诺克台球桌上的两个球一样。然而，电子是带电粒子，而电磁相互作用是通过光子来实现的。

So, another diagram would show a photon passing from one electron to the other, as a result changing the paths of the electrons so that they end up at C and D. This could arise in a number of ways.

所以，另一个图会显示一个光子从一个电子传递到另一个电子，结果改变了电子的路径，使得它们最终到达C和D。这可能以多种方式发生。

Feynman diagrams for the possibilities of two particles starting at one location and ending at another with an electromagnetic interaction © Richard Palmer

两个粒子从一个位置开始并在有电磁相互作用的情况下到达另一个位置的可能性的费曼图。

Each of the different possible diagrams will have a probability attached to it. As we add in more unlikely possibilities, the outcome becomes closer and closer to reality. It’s amusing that quantum physics is in one sense the most accurate science we have. As Feynman once observed, the difference between its predictions and reality are comparable to the width of a hair on the scale of the distance between New York and Los Angeles.

每一个不同的可能的图都有一个与之相关的概率。当我们加入更多不太可能的可能性时，结果就会越来越接近现实。有趣的是，从某种意义上说，量子物理学是我们所拥有的最精确的科学。正如费曼曾经说过的，它的预测与现实之间的差异，就好比在纽约和洛杉矶之间的距离尺度上的一根头发的宽度。

Yet on the other hand, the predictions of quantum physics are based on probabilities, and though we can come nearer to the actual value it will always be the limit of taking every possible diagram into consideration, rather than a simple outcome.

然而另一方面，量子物理学的预测是基于概率的，尽管我们可以更接近实际值，但它永远只是考虑了每一个可能的图表后的极限情况，而不是一个简单的结果。

Although Feynman diagrams sometimes have arrows indicating a direction of travel, they are often not necessary. Take, for example, the photon travelling between electrons in the diagrams shown above.

虽然费曼图有时会有箭头表示运动方向，但它们通常并不是必需的。例如，在上面所示的图中电子之间传递的光子。

It is perfectly acceptable to say that the photon travels in the direction that has it travelling into the future, but in practice, the mathematics used to make the calculation doesn’t care whether the photon travels forward or backward in time. Just as the diagrams don’t usually distinguish a direction, so the photon is described as being “exchanged” by the particles, rather than travelling from a specific particle to the other one.

我们完全可以说光子朝着进入未来的方向传播，但实际上，用于计算的数学方法并不在意光子在时间上是向前还是向后传播。就如同这些图通常并不区分方向一样，所以光子被描述为是被粒子“交换”的，而不是从一个特定的粒子传播到另一个粒子。

We won’t go through every possible diagram for this simple interaction (in fact it would be impossible, and even attempting it would be highly tedious). But just to show how more and more complexity could be added in, a next possibility could be to have two photons exchanged along the way, producing a pair of scattering events. By the time we get down to an event like this, the contribution is already something like one part in 10,000.

我们不会逐一研究这种简单相互作用的每一个可能的图（实际上这是不可能的，而且即使尝试这样做也会非常乏味）。但为了展示如何添加越来越多的复杂情况，下一种可能的情况是在这个过程中有两个光子被交换，从而产生一对散射事件。当我们研究到像这样的一个事件时，它的贡献已经大约是万分之一了。

Feynman diagram for the possibility of two particles starting at one location and ending at another with two electromagnetic interactions. Each path is shown as a straight line, and the interactions are shown by wavy lines which represent photons © Richard Palmer

Feynman diagram for the possibility of two particles starting at one location and ending at another with two electromagnetic interactions © Richard Palmer

两个粒子从一个位置开始并在有两次电磁相互作用的情况下到达另一个位置的可能性的费曼图。

Note, incidentally, that the diagrams are more than visual illustrations – they are a mechanism to base calculations on. The actual calculations can become painfully messy, but the diagrams provide the patterns to ground them in an approachable fashion.

顺便提一下，请注意这些图不仅仅是直观的图示——它们是进行计算的一种依据机制。实际的计算可能会变得极其复杂混乱，但这些图以一种易于理解的方式提供了进行计算的模式。

Feynman diagram

费曼图

Feynman diagram, a graphical method of representing the interactions of elementary particles, invented in the 1940s and ’50s by the American theoretical physicist Richard P. Feynman. Introduced during the development of the theory of quantum electrodynamics as an aid for visualizing and calculating the effects of electromagnetic interactions among electrons and photons, Feynman diagrams are now used to depict all types of particle interactions.

费曼图是一种用来表示基本粒子相互作用的图形方法，由美国理论物理学家理查德·P·费曼在 20 世纪 40 年代和 50 年代发明。费曼图是在量子电动力学理论的发展过程中引入的，用于帮助可视化和计算电磁相互作用在电子和光子之间的效应，如今被用来描绘所有类型的粒子相互作用。

A Feynman diagram is a two-dimensional representation in which one axis, usually the horizontal axis, is chosen to represent space, while the second (vertical) axis represents time. Straight lines are used to depict fermions—fundamental particles with half-integer values of intrinsic angular momentum (spin), such as electrons (e−)—and wavy lines are used for bosons—particles with integer values of spin, such as photons (γ). On a conceptual level fermions may be regarded as “matter” particles, which experience the effect of a force arising from the exchange of bosons, so-called “force-carrier,” or field, particles.

费曼图是一个二维表示图，其中一个轴（通常是水平轴）被用来表示空间，而第二个（垂直）轴表示时间。直线被用来描绘费米子 ——具有半整数值固有角动量（自旋）的基本粒子，例如电子(e−)——而波浪线则用于表示玻色子 ——具有整数自旋值的粒子，例如光子(γ)。从概念上讲，费米子可以被视为“物质”粒子，它们通过交换玻色子（所谓的“力的载体”或场粒子）来感受力的作用。

At the quantum level the interactions of fermions occur through the emission and absorption of the field particles associated with the fundamental interactions of matter, in particular the electromagnetic force, the strong force, and the weak force. The basic interaction therefore appears on a Feynman diagram as a “vertex”—i.e., a junction of three lines. In this way the path of an electron, for example, appears as two straight lines connected to a third, wavy, line where the electron emits or absorbs a photon. (See the figure.)

在量子层面上，费米子的相互作用是通过发射和吸收与物质的基本相互作用相关的场粒子来实现的，尤其是电磁力、强相互作用和弱相互作用。因此，基本相互作用在费曼图上表现为一个 “顶点” ——即三条线的交汇点。例如，一个电子的路径在费曼图上表现为两条直线连接到第三条波浪线，在这里电子发射或吸收一个光子。（见图）

Feynman diagrams are used by physicists to make very precise calculations of the probability of any given process, such as electron-electron scattering, for example, in quantum electrodynamics. The calculations must include terms equivalent to all the lines (representing propagating particles) and all the vertices (representing interactions) shown in the diagram. In addition, since a given process can be represented by many possible Feynman diagrams, the contributions of every possible diagram must be entered into the calculation of the total probability that a particular process will occur. Comparison of the results of these calculations with experimental measurements have revealed an extraordinary level of accuracy, with agreement to nine significant digits in some cases.

物理学家使用费曼图来进行非常精确的计算，以确定任何给定过程的概率，例如在量子电动力学中电子 - 电子散射的概率。这些计算必须包括图中显示的所有线条（代表传播粒子）和所有顶点（代表相互作用）的等效项。此外，由于一个给定的过程可以用许多可能的费曼图来表示，因此必须将每一个可能的图的贡献纳入到该特定过程发生的总概率的计算中。将这些计算结果与实验测量结果进行比较，显示出极高的精确度，有些情况下达到了九位有效数字的一致性。

Feynman diagram
费曼图

Feynman diagram used in quantum electrodynamics to represent the simplest interaction between two electrons ( $e^-$ ). The two vertices ( $V_1$ and $V_2$ ) represent the emission and absorption, respectively, of a photon ( $\gamma$ ).

用于量子电动力学中，表示两个电子（ $e^-$ ）之间最简单相互作用的费曼图。两个顶点（ $V_1$ 和 $V_2$ ）分别代表光子（ $\gamma$ ）的发射和吸收。

The simplest Feynman diagrams involve only two vertices, representing the emission and absorption of a field particle. (See the figure.) In this diagram an electron (e−) emits a photon at V1, and this photon is then absorbed slightly later by another electron at V2. The emission of the photon causes the first electron to recoil in space, while the absorption of the photon’s energy and momentum causes a comparable deflection in the second electron’s path. The result of this interaction is that the particles move away from each other in space.

最简单的费曼图只涉及两个顶点，代表场粒子的发射和吸收。（见图）在这个图中，一个电子(e−)在 V1 处发射一个光子，然后这个光子稍后被另一个电子在 V2 处吸收。光子的发射导致第一个电子在空间中反冲，而光子的能量和动量的吸收导致第二个电子的路径发生类似的偏转。这种相互作用的结果是粒子在空间中彼此远离。

Feynman diagram

Feynman diagram Feynman diagram of the annihilation of an electron (e−) by a positron (e+) The annihilation of the particle-antiparticle pair leads to the formation of a muon (μ−) and an antimuon (μ+). Both antiparticles (e+ and μ+) are represented as particles moving backward in time; that is, the arrowheads are reversed.

费曼图一个电子(e−)被一个正电子(e+)湮灭的费曼图。粒子 - 反粒子对的湮灭导致了一个 μ 子(μ−)和一个反 μ 子(μ+)的形成。两个反粒子(e+ 和 μ+)都被表示为向后移动时间的粒子；也就是说，箭头的方向被反转了。

One intriguing feature of Feynman diagrams is that antiparticles are represented as ordinary matter particles moving backward in time—that is, with the arrow head reversed on the lines that depict them. For example, in another typical interaction (shown in the figure), an electron collides with its antiparticle, a positron (e+), and both are annihilated. A photon is created by the collision, and it subsequently forms two new particles in space: a muon (μ−) and its antiparticle, an antimuon (μ+). In the diagram of this interaction, both antiparticles (e+ and μ+) are represented as their corresponding particles moving backward in time (toward the past).

费曼图的一个有趣特点是反粒子被表示为向后移动时间的普通物质粒子——也就是说，在描绘它们的线条上箭头的方向被反转了。例如，在另一种典型的相互作用（如图所示）中，一个电子与其反粒子、一个正电子 (e+)发生碰撞，两者都被湮灭。光子由碰撞产生，并随后在空间中形成两个新的粒子：一个 μ 子 (μ−)及其反粒子，即反 μ 子(μ+)。在这个相互作用的图中，两个反粒子(e+ 和 μ+)都被表示为它们对应的粒子向后移动时间（朝向过去）。

Feynman diagram

Feynman diagram Feynman diagram of a complex interaction between two electrons (e−), involving four vertices (V1, V2, V3, V4) and an electron-positron loop.

费曼图]两个电子(e−)之间复杂的相互作用的费曼图，涉及四个顶点（V1、V2、V3、V4）和一个电子 - 正电子环。

More-complex Feynman diagrams, involving the emission and absorption of many particles, are also possible, as shown in the figure. In this diagram two electrons exchange two separate photons, producing four different interactions at V1, V2, V3, and V4, respectively.

更复杂的费曼图也是可能的，如图所示，涉及许多粒子的发射和吸收。在这个图中，两个电子交换两个不同的光子，在 V1、V2、V3 和 V4 处分别产生四种不同的相互作用。

Christine Sutton

克里斯汀·萨顿

quantum electrodynamics

量子电动力学
Also known as: QED

quantum electrodynamics (QED), quantum field theory of the interactions of charged particles with the electromagnetic field. It describes mathematically not only all interactions of light with matter but also those of charged particles with one another. QED is a relativistic theory in that Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity is built into each of its equations. Because the behaviour of atoms and molecules is primarily electromagnetic in nature, all of atomic physics can be considered a test laboratory for the theory. Some of the most precise tests of QED have been experiments dealing with the properties of subatomic particles known as muons. The magnetic moment of this type of particle has been shown to agree with the theory to nine significant digits. Agreement of such high accuracy makes QED one of the most successful physical theories so far devised.

量子电动力学（QED），是带电粒子与电磁场相互作用的量子场论。它不仅从数学上描述了光与物质的所有相互作用，还描述了带电粒子之间的相互作用。QED 是一种相对论性理论，因为阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦的狭义相对论被嵌入到它的每一个方程中。由于原子和分子的行为主要是电磁性质的，因此整个原子物理学都可以被视为该理论的试验场。对 QED 最精确的检验之一是关于被称为 μ 子的亚原子粒子的性质的实验。这种粒子的磁矩已被证明与理论一致，达到了九位有效数字。这种高精度的一致性使 QED 成为迄今为止设计的最成功的物理理论之一。

Learn about “QED” a play about physicist Richard Feynman, to teach science and engineering to people through performance art Using QED, a play about physicist Richard Feynman, to teach science and engineering.

了解关于物理学家理查德·费曼的戏剧 “QED”，通过表演艺术向人们传授科学和工程学。通过关于物理学家理查德·费曼的戏剧 QED 来传授科学和工程学。

In 1928 the English physicist P.A.M. Dirac laid the foundations for QED with his discovery of a wave equation that described the motion and spin of electrons and incorporated both quantum mechanics and the theory of special relativity. The QED theory was refined and fully developed in the late 1940s by Richard P. Feynman, Julian S. Schwinger, and Tomonaga Shin’ichirō, independently of one another. QED rests on the idea that charged particles (e.g., electrons and positrons) interact by emitting and absorbing photons, the particles that transmit electromagnetic forces. These photons are “virtual”; that is, they cannot be seen or detected in any way because their existence violates the conservation of energy and momentum. The photon exchange is merely the “force” of the interaction, because interacting particles change their speed and direction of travel as they release or absorb the energy of a photon. Photons also can be emitted in a free state, in which case they may be observed as light or other forms of electromagnetic radiation.

1928 年，英国物理学家 P.A.M. 狄拉克通过发现一个波动方程为 QED 奠定了基础，该方程描述了电子的运动和自旋，并融合了量子力学和狭义相对论。QED 理论在 20 世纪 40 年代末由理查德·P·费曼、朱利安·S·施温格和朝永振一郎各自独立地进行了完善和发展。QED 基于这样一个观点：带电粒子（例如电子和正电子）通过发射和吸收光子来相互作用，光子是传递电磁力的粒子。这些光子是 “虚” 的；也就是说，由于它们的存在违反了能量守恒和动量守恒，因此无法被看见或检测到。光子交换仅仅是相互作用的 “力”，因为相互作用的粒子在释放或吸收光子的能量时会改变速度和运动方向。光子也可以处于自由态发射，在这种情况下，它们可以被观察为光或其他形式的电磁辐射。

The interaction of two charged particles occurs in a series of processes of increasing complexity. In the simplest, only one virtual photon is involved; in a second-order process, there are two; and so forth. The processes correspond to all the possible ways in which the particles can interact by the exchange of virtual photons, and each of them can be represented graphically by means of the so-called Feynman diagrams. Besides furnishing an intuitive picture of the process being considered, this type of diagram prescribes precisely how to calculate the variable involved. Each subatomic process becomes computationally more difficult than the previous one, and there are an infinite number of processes. The QED theory, however, states that the more complex the process—that is, the greater the number of virtual photons exchanged in the process—the smaller the probability of its occurrence. For each level of complexity, the contribution of the process decreases by an amount given by α2—where α is a dimensionless quantity called the fine-structure constant, with a numerical value equal to (1/137). Thus, after a few levels the contribution is negligible. In a more-fundamental way the factor α serves as a measure of the strength of the electromagnetic interaction. It equals e2/4πεo[planck]c, where e is the electron charge, [planck] is Planck’s constant divided by 2π, c is the speed of light, and εo is the permittivity of free space.

两个带电粒子的相互作用发生在一系列复杂性不断增加的过程中。在最简单的情况下，只有一个虚光子参与；在二阶过程中，有两个；依此类推。这些过程对应于粒子通过交换虚光子相互作用的所有可能方式，每一种都可以通过所谓的费曼图进行图形化表示。除了为所考虑的过程提供直观图像外，这种图表还精确地规定了如何计算涉及的变量。每一个亚原子过程都比前一个更难计算，而且有无穷多个过程。然而，QED 理论指出，过程越复杂——也就是说，过程中交换的虚光子数量越多——该过程发生的概率就越小。对于每一级复杂性，过程的贡献量会减少一个由 α² 给出的数值——其中 α 是一个被称为精细结构常数的无量纲量，其数值等于 (1/137)。因此，在经过几级之后，其贡献量可以忽略不计。从更基础的层面来说，因子 α 是衡量电磁相互作用强度的一个指标。它等于 e²/4πε₀[planck]c，其中 e 是电子电荷，[planck] 是普朗克常数除以 2π，c 是光速，ε₀ 是自由空间的介电常数。

QED is often called a perturbation theory because of the smallness of the fine-structure constant and the resultant decreasing size of higher-order contributions. This relative simplicity and the success of QED have made it a model for other quantum field theories. Finally, the picture of electromagnetic interactions as the exchange of virtual particles has been carried over to the theories of the other fundamental interactions of matter, the strong force, the weak force, and the gravitational force. See also gauge theory.

QED 常被称为微扰理论，因为精细结构常数很小，导致高阶贡献的幅度逐渐减小。这种相对的简单性以及 QED 的成功，使其成为其他量子场理论的典范。最后，将电磁相互作用视为虚粒子交换的观点被推广到了物质的其他基本相互作用的理论中，包括强相互作用、弱相互作用和引力相互作用。另见规范理论。

This article was most recently revised and updated by Robert Curley.

这篇文章最近由罗伯特·柯里修订并更新。

quantum field theory

量子场论

Written and fact-checked by
Last Updated: Jan 29, 2025

quantum field theory, body of physical principles combining the elements of quantum mechanics with those of relativity to explain the behaviour of subatomic particles and their interactions via a variety of force fields. Two examples of modern quantum field theories are quantum electrodynamics, describing the interaction of electrically charged particles and the electromagnetic force, and quantum chromodynamics, representing the interactions of quarks and the strong force. Designed to account for particle-physics phenomena such as high-energy collisions in which subatomic particles may be created or destroyed, quantum field theories have also found applications in other branches of physics.

量子场论，是一套将量子力学的要素与相对论的要素相结合的物理原理体系，用于解释亚原子粒子的行为以及它们通过各种力场的相互作用。两个现代量子场理论的例子是量子电动力学，它描述了带电粒子与电磁力的相互作用，以及量子色动力学，它代表了夸克与强相互作用的相互作用。量子场论旨在解释粒子物理学现象，例如在高能碰撞中亚原子粒子可能被创造或毁灭，此外，量子场论还在物理学的其他分支中找到了应用。

The prototype of quantum field theories is quantum electrodynamics (QED), which provides a comprehensive mathematical framework for predicting and understanding the effects of electromagnetism on electrically charged matter at all energy levels. Electric and magnetic forces are regarded as arising from the emission and absorption of exchange particles called photons. These can be represented as disturbances of electromagnetic fields, much as ripples on a lake are disturbances of the water. Under suitable conditions, photons may become entirely free of charged particles; they are then detectable as light and as other forms of electromagnetic radiation. Similarly, particles such as electrons are themselves regarded as disturbances of their own quantized fields. Numerical predictions based on QED agree with experimental data to within one part in 10 million in some cases.

量子场论的原型是量子电动力学（QED），它为预测和理解电磁ism 在所有能量水平上对带电物质的影响提供了一个全面的数学框架。电和磁的力被认为是由称为光子的交换粒子的发射和吸收产生的。这些可以被表示为电磁场的扰动，就像湖面上的涟漪是水的扰动一样。在适当的条件下，光子可以完全脱离带电粒子；它们随后可以被探测为光和其他形式的电磁辐射。类似地，像电子这样的粒子本身也被视为它们自身量子场的扰动。基于 QED 的数值预测在某些情况下与实验数据的吻合度高达千万分之一。

There is a widespread conviction among physicists that other forces in nature—the weak force responsible for radioactive beta decay; the strong force, which binds together the constituents of atomic nuclei; and perhaps also the gravitational force—can be described by theories similar to QED. These theories are known collectively as gauge theories. Each of the forces is mediated by its own set of exchange particles, and differences between the forces are reflected in the properties of these particles. For example, electromagnetic and gravitational forces operate over long distances, and their exchange particles—the well-studied photon and the as-yet-undetected graviton, respectively—have no mass.

在物理学家之间有一个广泛的共识，即自然界中的其他力——负责放射性 β 衰变的弱相互作用；将原子核的组成部分结合在一起的强相互作用；也许还有引力——可以用类似于 QED 的理论来描述。这些理论统称为规范理论。每一种力都由其自身的一组交换粒子来介导，而力之间的差异则反映在这些粒子的性质上。例如，电磁力和引力的作用范围都很长，它们的交换粒子——经过深入研究的光子和尚未被探测到的引力子——都没有质量。

In contrast, the strong and weak forces operate only over distances shorter than the size of an atomic nucleus. Quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the modern quantum field theory describing the effects of the strong force among quarks, predicts the existence of exchange particles called gluons, which are also massless as with QED but whose interactions occur in a way that essentially confines quarks to bound particles such as the proton and the neutron. The weak force is carried by massive exchange particles—the W and Z particles—and is thus limited to an extremely short range, approximately 1 percent of the diameter of a typical atomic nucleus.

相比之下，强相互作用和弱相互作用的作用距离都小于原子核的大小。量子色动力学（QCD）是描述夸克之间强相互作用效应的现代量子场论，它预测了称为胶子的交换粒子的存在，这些粒子和 QED 中的一样没有质量，但它们的相互作用方式本质上将夸克限制在像质子和中子这样的束缚粒子中。弱相互作用由具有质量的交换粒子——W 粒子和 Z 粒子——来传递，因此其作用范围非常短，大约是一个典型原子核直径的 1%。

The current theoretical understanding of the fundamental interactions of matter is based on quantum field theories of these forces. Research continues, however, to develop a single unified field theory that encompasses all the forces. In such a unified theory, all the forces would have a common origin and would be related by mathematical symmetries. The simplest result would be that all the forces would have identical properties and that a mechanism called spontaneous symmetry breaking would account for the observed differences. A unified theory of electromagnetic and weak forces, the electroweak theory, has been developed and has received considerable experimental support. It is likely that this theory can be extended to include the strong force. There also exist theories that include the gravitational force, but these are more speculative.

目前对物质的基本相互作用的理论理解是基于这些力的量子场论。然而，研究仍在继续，以发展一个单一的统一场论，它将涵盖所有的力。在一个这样的统一理论中，所有力都将有一个共同的起源，并且通过数学对称性相互关联。最简单的结果是，所有力都将具有相同的性质，并且一种被称为自发对称性破缺的机制将解释观察到的差异。一个关于电磁力和弱力的统一理论——电弱理论已经被发展出来，并且得到了相当多的实验支持。很可能这个理论可以扩展到包括强相互作用。也存在包括引力的理论，但这些理论更具推测性。

This article was most recently revised and updated by Erik Gregersen.

这篇文章最近由埃里克·格雷格森修订并更新。

Qgraf + MaTeX + tikz-feynman 自动生产 Feynman 图

posted @ 2017-02-27 14:44 F.Feng

以前一直是用 FeynArts 来生成 Feynman 图，后来接触到 Qgraf，也曾试图在 Mathematica 中调用 GraphPlot 来输出 Feynman 图，但都不是很理想，最近发现了两个 Package：MaTex 和 tikz-feynman，尝试发现自动生成出来的 Feynman 图还可以！

GitHub - szhorvat/MaTeX: LaTeX labels in Mathematica
https://github.com/szhorvat/MaTeX
GitHub - JP-Ellis/tikz-feynman: Feynman Diagrams with TikZ
https://github.com/JP-Ellis/tikz-feynman

$H\to \gamma \gamma$