Functional Determinants in Quantum Field Theory
Abstract
Description
Functional determinants of differential operators play a prominent role in theoretical and mathematical physics, and in particular in quantum field theory. They are, however, difficult to compute in non-trivial cases. For one dimensional problems, a classical result of Gel'fand and Yaglom dramatically simplifies the problem so that the functional determinant can be computed without computing the spectrum of eigenvalues. Here I report recent progress in extending this approach to higher dimensions (i.e., functional determinants of partial differential operators), with applications in quantum field theory.
Plenary talk at QTS5 (Quantum Theory and Symmetries); 16 pp, 2 figs
Plenary talk at QTS5 (Quantum Theory and Symmetries); 16 pp, 2 figs