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The Principles of Gauging

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

Holger Lyre
Holger Lyre*
Affiliation:
Ruhr-University Bochum
*
†Send requests for reprints to the author, Institut für Philosophic Ruhr-Universität Bochum, D-44780 Bochum, Germany; email: holger.lyre@ruhr-uni-bochum.de.
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Abstract

The aim of this paper is twofold: First, to present an examination of the principles underlying gauge field theories. I shall argue that there are two principles directly connected to the two well-known theorems of Emmy Noether concerning global and local symmetries of the free matter-field Lagrangian, in the following referred to as “conservation principle” and “gauge principle.” Since both express nothing but certain symmetry features of the free field theory, they are not sufficient to derive a true interaction coupling to a new gauge field. For this purpose it is necessary to advocate a third, truly empirical principle which may be understood as a generalization of the equivalence principle. The second task of the paper is to deal with the ontological question concerning the reality status of gauge potentials in the light of the proposed logical structure of gauge theories. A nonlocal interpretation of topological effects in gauge theories and, thus, the non-reality of gauge potentials in accordance with the generalized equivalence principle will be favored.

Type
Relativity and Fields
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 68 , Issue S3: No. 3 Supplement: Proceedings of the 2000 Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association. Part I: Contributed Papers Sep., 2001 , 2001 , pp. S371 - S381
Copyright
Copyright © Philosophy of Science Association 2001

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Footnotes

‡

Special thanks to Tim Oliver Eynck for helpful remarks.

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