quantum field theory
noun
: a theory in physics: the interaction of two separate physical systems (such as particles) is attributed to a field that extends from one to the other and is manifested in a particle exchange between the two systems
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Electromagnetic force was well explained by quantum field theory, which pictured attraction or repulsion as an exchange of massless particles—photons—able to travel across unlimited distances. 
Andrew Crumey, WSJ, 3 June 2022 Adami sees the new research as an elegant synthesis of several different disciplines, including classical physics, atomic physics and quantum field theory. Joanna Thompson, Scientific American, 20 May 2022 In quantum field theory, the universe’s truly elementary entities are fields that fill all space. Quanta Magazine, 26 Jan. 2022 To solve a quantum field theory is to be able to use the field to predict observations. Quanta Magazine, 17 June 2021 Elliott notes that viewing quantum field theory from a mathematical perspective can help glean new information about the structures that are foundational to it. Rachel Crowell, Scientific American, 21 Mar. 2022 In the late 1920s physicists began to develop a powerful mathematical framework known as quantum field theory that remains the language of particle physics to this day. Quanta Magazine, 26 Jan. 2022 If the interaction is governed by any of the three forces other than gravity, physicists can in principle calculate the results of these scattering problems using quantum field theory. Katie Mccormick, Quanta Magazine, 12 Jan. 2022 This summer, Quanta covered the growing need for a mathematical understanding of quantum field theory, one of the most successful concepts in physics. Quanta Magazine, 23 Dec. 2021 See More
Andrew Crumey, WSJ, 3 June 2022 Adami sees the new research as an elegant synthesis of several different disciplines, including classical physics, atomic physics and quantum field theory. Joanna Thompson, Scientific American, 20 May 2022 In quantum field theory, the universe’s truly elementary entities are fields that fill all space. Quanta Magazine, 26 Jan. 2022 To solve a quantum field theory is to be able to use the field to predict observations. Quanta Magazine, 17 June 2021 Elliott notes that viewing quantum field theory from a mathematical perspective can help glean new information about the structures that are foundational to it. Rachel Crowell, Scientific American, 21 Mar. 2022 In the late 1920s physicists began to develop a powerful mathematical framework known as quantum field theory that remains the language of particle physics to this day. Quanta Magazine, 26 Jan. 2022 If the interaction is governed by any of the three forces other than gravity, physicists can in principle calculate the results of these scattering problems using quantum field theory. Katie Mccormick, Quanta Magazine, 12 Jan. 2022 This summer, Quanta covered the growing need for a mathematical understanding of quantum field theory, one of the most successful concepts in physics. Quanta Magazine, 23 Dec. 2021 See More Word History
First Known Use
1948, in the meaning defined above