Axiomatic, Parameterized, Off-Shell Quantum Field Theory

Axiomatic QFT attempts to provide a rigorous mathematical foundation for QFT, and it is the basis for proving some important general results, such as the well-known spin-statistics theorem. Free-field QFT meets the axioms of axiomatic QFT, showing they are consistent. Nevertheless, even after more than 50 years, there is still no known non-trivial theory of quantum fields with interactions in four-dimensional Minkowski spacetime that meets the same axioms. This paper provides a similar axiomatic basis for parameterized QFT, in which an invariant, fifth path parameter is added to the usual four spacetime position arguments of quantum fields. Dynamic evolution is in terms of the path parameter rather than the frame-dependent time coordinate. Further, the states of the theory are allowed to be off shell. Particles are therefore fundamentally “virtual” during interaction but, in the appropriate non-interacting, large-time limit, they dynamically tend towards “physical”, on-shell states. Unlike traditional QFT, it is possible to define a mathematically consistent interaction picture in parameterized QFT. This may be used to construct interacting fields that meet the same axioms as the corresponding free fields. One can then re-derive the Dyson series for scattering amplitudes, but without the mathematical inconsistency of traditional, perturbative QFT. The present work is limited to the case of scalar fields, and it does not address remaining issues of gauge symmetry and renormalization. Nevertheless, it still demonstrates that the parameterized formalism can provide a consistent foundation for the interpretation of QFT as used in practice and, perhaps, for better dealing with its further mathematical issues.