Talk: Alexander Blum (MPIWG)

Title:

Nothing comes from nothing, only the rho meson: Understanding the original bootstrap concept

Abstract:

The Bootstrap is a widely used technique for determining scattering amplitudes in particle physics using symmetries and consistency conditions, rather than dynamical equations. The term "Bootstrap" famously originated with Geoffrey Chew in the early 1960s. Chew connected an elaborate anti-reductionist program with the method, making claims about particles "generating" themselves rather than being made up of elementary constituents. While such claims are still often mentioned in anecdotes, no-one seems to know how this was actually supposed to work mathematically. In my talk, I will reconstruct Chew's program, showing how he aimed to get a form of circular causality through the use of integral equations and analytic continuation. While ultimately unsuccessful, this provides a prominent and intriguing example of 20th century physicists trying to move beyond the confines of standard mathematical physics, i.e., differential equations describing spatiotemporal evolution. This is joint work with Jens Salomon.