New Calculational Tool Could Dramatically Simplify Quantum Field Theory Calculations - Polidicks

[quote]Physicists have discovered a jewel-like geometric object that dramatically simplifies calculations of particle interactions and challenges the notion that space and time are fundamental components of reality. “This is completely new and very much simpler than anything that has been done before,” said Andrew Hodges, a mathematical physicist at Oxford University who has been following the work. The revelation that particle interactions, the most basic events in nature, may be consequences of geometry significantly advances a decades-long effort to reformulate quantum field theory, the body of laws describing elementary particles and their interactions. Interactions that were previously calculated with mathematical formulas thousands of terms long can now be described by computing the volume of the corresponding jewel-like “amplituhedron,” which yields an equivalent one-term expression. “The degree of efficiency is mind-boggling,” said Jacob Bourjaily, a theoretical physicist at Harvard University and one of the researchers who developed the new idea. “You can easily do, on paper, computations that were infeasible even with a computer before.”[/quote] [url]https://www.simonsfoundation.org/quanta/20130917-a-jewel-at-the-heart-of-quantum-physics/[/url] This could be pretty big if it turns out to be more useful than Feynman diagrams. Unless it turns out to not work in general quantum field theories, which would be sad.

It'll probably still break my head.

[QUOTE=Fatfatfatty;42263051]It'll probably still break my head.[/QUOTE] To be honest, it would probably break pretty much everyone's head. This is coming from a researcher at the IAS, which is pretty much for the smartest smart people ever.

snop sorry im dumb

He's not talking about himself

Pfff if the IAS hired me at 21 you'd better believe I wouldn't be modest about it

And the inexorable march of progress continues... 'tis truly the greatest time to be alive. If any of you reading this are interested in science, this is the great time to be alive. Make a difference. [editline]21st September 2013[/editline] How humbling [quote]In keeping with this idea, the new geometric approach to particle interactions removes locality and unitarity from its starting assumptions. The amplituhedron is not built out of space-time and probabilities; these properties merely arise as consequences of the jewel’s geometry. The usual picture of space and time, and particles moving around in them, is a construct.[/quote] But if you're like me nothing is truly humbling, when you consider our ability to see the scale of it all being unique among the known universe at the present time. That we are able to grasp this... is just brilliant.

Thought this part was pretty cool. I love when scientists manage to discover "shortcuts" that simplifies something several times.

Soooo, they discovered a Quantum Abacus?

It's like nature's Wolfram Alpha.

kinda almost seems like they found a way to integrate quantum equations, i know its not that simple but integration finds the area using infinitesimally small rectangles summed up, this sounds very similar [editline]21st September 2013[/editline] in concept anyways, i bet the equations are still like a page long

[QUOTE=Sableye;42266443]kinda almost seems like they found a way to integrate quantum equations, i know its not that simple but integration finds the area using infinitesimally small rectangles summed up, this sounds very similar [editline]21st September 2013[/editline] in concept anyways, i bet the equations are still like a page long[/QUOTE] what