SCIENCE SEMINAR
Something Will Come of Nothing: The Vacuum in Quantum Field Theory
Dr. Noah Graham
Middlebury College
Friday, October 24, 2008
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
HAMILTON 301
In quantum field theory, the allowed amplitude of each classical mode of oscillation is quantized in discrete steps. The smallest such amplitude, however, still corresponds to storing a nonzero energy in each mode, analogous to the ground-state energy ½ 
of a simple harmonic oscillator. Although the sum of this zero-point energy over all modes appears to yield a divergent, irrelevant, and ill-defined result, it actually can be formulated in a precise way that leads to nontrivial, experimentally accessible predictions. I will discuss a concrete implementation of these ideas that draws on standard techniques from quantum mechanics. I will survey some of the potential applications of this approach, including Casimir forces and stresses in mesoscopic phsyics and analyses of soliton and oscillon solutions to nonlinear wave equations in particle physics.
THE SUPPORT OF THE BISHOP'S UNIVERSITY SPEAKERS COMMITTEE IS GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGED.
