DOE Science Showcase - Effective field theories

Effective field theories (EFTs) are types of approximations that contain the appropriate degrees of freedom to describe physical phenomena occurring at a chosen length scale, while ignoring the substructure and the degrees of freedom at shorter distances or higher energies. The EFT method of approximation is widely used to analyze a myriad of phenomena in many different areas of high-energy physics, from the low-energy scales of atomic and nuclear physics to the high-energy scales of elementary particle physics. Dr. William Watson of OSTI’s staff provides an overview of EFTs and describes some of the latest DOE research endeavors utilizing the EFT concept in his latest white paper ‘Effective field theory: In the OSTI Collections’.

Large non-Gaussianities in the Effective Field Theory Approach to Single-Field Inflation: the Trispectrum: Image credit: inspirehep.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related Links of Interest

• Theoretical Physics
• Fermi theory of beta decay
• Phase transitions
• Renormalization Group
• Quantum field theory
• Lattice quantum field theory
• Ginzburg–Landau theory
• Nobel Laureate Kenneth Geddes Wilson, DOE R&D Accomplishments

 

Examples of EFTs Utilized in DOE Research

• Chiral dynamics and peripheral transverse densities SciTech Connect
• Neutron Electric Dipole Moments from Beyond the Standard Model Physics SciTech Connect
• International Linear Collider Technical Design Report - Volume 2: Physics SciTech Connect
• Ab Initio Many-Body Calculations Of Light-Ion Reactions  SciTech Connect
• Heavy Quarks, QCD, and Effective Field Theory SciTech Connect
• Quark mass variation constraints from Big Bang nucleosynthesis SciTech Connect
• Unitarity check in gravitational Higgs mechanism SciTech Connect

 

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