Journal article

Publication year: 1997

Pages: 1026-1046

Journal: Physical Review D

Volume number: 55

Issue number: 2

ISSN: 2470-0010

eISSN: 2470-0029

Open access status: Green

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.55.1026

Publisher: American Physical Society

Abstract: 
We discuss the classical limit for the long-distance (''soft'') modes of a quantum field when the hard modes of the field are in thermal equilibrium. We address the question of the correct semiclassical dynamics when a momentum cutoff \p\less than or equal to k(c) much less than T is introduced. Higher order contributions lead to a stochastic interpretation for the effective action in analogy with quantum Brownian motion, resulting in dissipation and decoherence for the evolution of the soft modes. Particular emphasis is put on the understanding of dissipation. Our discussion focuses mostly on scalar fields, but we make some remarks on the extension to gauge theories.

Harvard Citation style: Greiner, C. and Muller, B. (1997) Classical fields near thermal equilibrium, Physical Review D, 55(2), pp. 1026-1046. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.55.1026

APA Citation style: Greiner, C., & Muller, B. (1997). Classical fields near thermal equilibrium. Physical Review D. 55(2), 1026-1046. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.55.1026