Wick’s theorem

E59630

Wick’s theorem is a fundamental result in quantum field theory that expresses time-ordered products of field operators as sums of normal-ordered products with all possible contractions, forming the basis for deriving Feynman rules and diagrammatic expansions.

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Generate an image of Wick’s theorem (Wick’s theorem is a fundamental result in quantum field theory that expresses time-ordered products of field operators as sums of normal-ordered products with all possible contractions, forming the basis for deriving Feynman rules and diagrammatic expansions.)

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Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf theorem in quantum field theory ⓘ
appliesTo bosonic fields ⓘ
creation and annihilation operators ⓘ
fermionic fields ⓘ
free quantum fields ⓘ
scalar fields ⓘ
assumes Gaussian (free) vacuum state ⓘ
fields satisfy canonical (anti)commutation relations ⓘ
category mathematical physics theorem ⓘ
centralConceptIn covariant perturbation theory ⓘ
many-body quantum theory ⓘ
clarifies relation between operator products and Feynman propagators ⓘ
defines contraction as the difference between time-ordered and normal-ordered products of two fields ⓘ
describes expansion of time-ordered products of field operators ⓘ
field quantum field theory ⓘ
foundationFor Feynman diagram technique ⓘ
linked to: Feynman diagrams

path-integral diagrammatic expansions ⓘ
generalizedBy Wick’s theorem for Grassmann fields ⓘ
linked to: Wick’s theorem

Wick’s theorem for thermal (finite-temperature) field theory ⓘ
linked to: Wick’s theorem
hasKeyConcept Green’s functions ⓘ
propagators ⓘ
vacuum expectation value ⓘ
historicalPeriod mid-20th century ⓘ
holdsIn Heisenberg picture of quantum field theory ⓘ
implies higher n-point Green’s functions of free fields factorize into products of two-point functions ⓘ
time-ordered vacuum expectation values can be expressed in terms of two-point functions ⓘ
involvesOperation contraction of two field operators ⓘ
normal-ordering operator ⓘ
time-ordering operator ⓘ
mathematicalForm T(ϕ₁…ϕₙ)=:ϕ₁…ϕₙ:+(all single contractions)+…+(all full contractions) ⓘ
namedAfter Gian-Carlo Wick ⓘ
relatedTo Gaussian integration identities ⓘ
Isserlis’ theorem in probability theory ⓘ
relatesConcept contractions of field operators ⓘ
normal-ordered products ⓘ
time-ordered products ⓘ
requires vacuum expectation values of normal-ordered products vanish ⓘ
statesThat a time-ordered product of free fields can be written as a sum of normal-ordered products with all possible contractions ⓘ
usedFor derivation of Feynman rules ⓘ
diagrammatic expansions in quantum field theory ⓘ
evaluation of S-matrix elements ⓘ
normal-ordering of interaction Hamiltonians ⓘ
perturbation theory in quantum field theory ⓘ
systematic computation of n-point correlation functions ⓘ
usedIn canonical operator formalism of quantum field theory ⓘ
derivation of propagators ⓘ
proofs of equivalence between operator and path-integral formalisms ⓘ

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Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Feynman rules → relatedTo → Wick’s theorem ⓘ
Dyson series → relatedTo → Wick's theorem ⓘ
linked to: Wick’s theorem
Wick’s theorem → generalizedBy → Wick’s theorem for thermal (finite-temperature) field theory ⓘ
linked to: Wick’s theorem
Wick’s theorem → generalizedBy → Wick’s theorem for Grassmann fields ⓘ
linked to: Wick’s theorem
Gian-Carlo Wick → notableWork → Wick's theorem ⓘ
linked to: Wick’s theorem
Gian-Carlo Wick → notableConcept → Wick's theorem ⓘ
linked to: Wick’s theorem