{"title":"The genesis of the CPT theorem","authors":"Alexander S. Blum, Andrés Martínez de Velasco","doi":"10.1140/epjh/s13129-022-00037-w","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>We reconstruct the genesis of the CPT theorem in quantum field theory from the first proofs of the spin-statistics theorem in 1939/1940 to the discovery of parity violation in 1957. Centrally, we highlight that the original motivation for pursuing the CPT theorem lay primarily in the attempt to identify the correct formulation of time reversal in relativistic quantum field theories.\n</p></div>","PeriodicalId":791,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal H","volume":"47 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8000,"publicationDate":"2022-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1140/epjh/s13129-022-00037-w.pdf","citationCount":"4","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"The European Physical Journal H","FirstCategoryId":"4","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1140/epjh/s13129-022-00037-w","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 4
Abstract
We reconstruct the genesis of the CPT theorem in quantum field theory from the first proofs of the spin-statistics theorem in 1939/1940 to the discovery of parity violation in 1957. Centrally, we highlight that the original motivation for pursuing the CPT theorem lay primarily in the attempt to identify the correct formulation of time reversal in relativistic quantum field theories.
期刊介绍:
The purpose of this journal is to catalyse, foster, and disseminate an awareness and understanding of the historical development of ideas in contemporary physics, and more generally, ideas about how Nature works.
The scope explicitly includes:
- Contributions addressing the history of physics and of physical ideas and concepts, the interplay of physics and mathematics as well as the natural sciences, and the history and philosophy of sciences, together with discussions of experimental ideas and designs - inasmuch as they clearly relate, and preferably add, to the understanding of modern physics.
- Annotated and/or contextual translations of relevant foreign-language texts.
- Careful characterisations of old and/or abandoned ideas including past mistakes and false leads, thereby helping working physicists to assess how compelling contemporary ideas may turn out to be in future, i.e. with hindsight.