3 ms·
Also virtual particles don't make sense in a non-perturbative regime like room-temp protons, since they are an aid to understanding terms in the perturbation se
by nimish 4y ago
Also virtual particles don't make sense in a non-perturbative regime like room-temp protons, since they are an aid to understanding terms in the perturbation series expansion.
Not sure how they even apply in the case where Feynman diagrams aren't applicable. Hell, the calculations likely use lattice QCD which eschews them entirely!
- zakk 4y agoProtons are non-perturbative, indeed, but this does not mean that there are no virtual particles exchanged inside a proton. It seems like your comment implies that, sorry if I misunderstood. On the contrary, this means that there are too many virtual particles (gluons) being exchanged inside a proton, so many that perturbation theory is not applicable.
- AnimalMuppet 4y agoAre gluons virtual? (Or are they virtual inside a proton?)
- frutiger 4y agoGluons are real.
- blueprint 4y agoVirtual particles are also "real", and if you don't believe me, at least you have to admit that virtual photons alone lead to real energy (e.g. Casimir effect) - and it has also been stated that gluons within protons can be interpreted as "virtual"... so I'm pretty sure your comment is wrong. I'd downvote you if I could since that seems to be what the cool kids here are doing but I used up all my karma telling the truth.
- hilbert42 4y ago"Virtual particles are also "real"." No doubt, and Casimir is probably sufficient evidence, but it seems to me a lot of confusion would be saved if we changed the name. To what I don't know - perhaps something like say quantum energy disturbance but more eloquent or descriptive.
- blueprint 4y ago100%. "Possible" particle? :)
- cwillu 4y agoYour question is can be posed as “is there a well-behaved resonance of the gluon field in a proton, that lasts long enough for it to be identified”. It's kinda like identifying a bubble in a pot of cold water vs a pot just starting to boil vs a rolling boil.
- hither_shores 4y agoVirtual particles are part of an indexing scheme for perturbation series - saying that you leave the perturbative regime when you have "too many" of them is like saying that crystalline solids melt when they have too many normal modes.
- xigency 4y agoFinally an analogy where I understand neither comparison :)