Theories without models: uncontrolled idealizations in particle physics.
The perturbative treatment of realistic quantum field theories, such as quantum electrodynamics, requires the use of mathematical idealizations in the approximation series for scattering amplitudes. Such mathematical idealizations are necessary to derive empirically relevant models from the theory....
| Published in: | Synthese Vol. 205; no. 1; pp. 1 - 28 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
Jan2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=181827131&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 181827131 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00397857 4LI jtl: Synthese issn: 00397857 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jan2025 vid: 205 iid: 1 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature artinfo: ui: 181827131 10.1007/s11229-024-04826-2 ppf: 1 ppct: 27 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 1.4MB tig: atl: Theories without models: uncontrolled idealizations in particle physics. aug: au: Antoniou, Antonis Thébault, Karim P. Y. affil: https://ror.org/04gnjpq42 National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece https://ror.org/0524sp257 University of Bristol, Bristol, UK su: Scientific knowledge Quantum field theory Quantum electrodynamics Particle physics Renormalization group sug: subj: Scientific knowledge Quantum field theory Quantum electrodynamics Particle physics Renormalization group keyword: Asymptotic safety Borel summability Empirical adequacy Mathematical idealizations Mathematical Sciences Pure Mathematics Psychology and Cognitive Sciences Psychology Models Perturbative quantum field theory ab: The perturbative treatment of realistic quantum field theories, such as quantum electrodynamics, requires the use of mathematical idealizations in the approximation series for scattering amplitudes. Such mathematical idealizations are necessary to derive empirically relevant models from the theory. Mathematical idealizations can be either controlled or uncontrolled, depending on whether current scientific knowledge can explain whether the effects of the idealization are negligible or not. Drawing upon negative mathematical results in asymptotic analysis (failure of Borel summability) and renormalization group theory (failure of asymptotic safety), we argue that the mathematical idealizations applied in perturbative quantum electrodynamics should be understood as uncontrolled. This, in turn, leads to the problematic conclusion that such theories do not have theoretical models in the natural understanding of this term. The existence of unquestionable empirically successful theories without theoretical models has significant implications both for our understanding of the theory-model relationship in physics and the concept of empirical adequacy. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Synthese is a copyright of Springer, 2025. All Rights Reserved. item: Synthese holder: Springer Nature dt: @attributes: year: 2025 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
|---|