No place for particles in relativistic quantum theories?

Hans Halvorson, Rob Clifton

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

106 Scopus citations

Abstract

David Malament (1996) has recently argued that there can be no relativistic quantum theory of (localizable) particles. We consider and rebut several objections that have been made against the soundness of Malament's argument. We then consider some further objections that might be made against the generality of Malament's conclusion, and we supply three no-go theorems to counter these objections. Finally, we dispel potential worries about the counterintuitive nature of these results by showing that relativistic quantum field theory itself explains the appearance of "particle detections.".

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1-28
Number of pages28
JournalPhilosophy of Science
Volume69
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2002

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • History
  • Philosophy
  • History and Philosophy of Science

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