Algebraic Principles of Quantum Field Theory I: Foundation and an exact solution of BV QFT

Abstract

This is the first in a series of papers on an attempt to understand quantum field theory mathematically. In this paper we shall introduce and study BV QFT algebra and BV QFT as the proto-algebraic model of quantum field theory by exploiting Batalin-Vilkovisky quantization scheme. We shall develop a complete theory of obstruction (anomaly) to quantization of classical observables and propose that expectation value of quantized observable is certain quantum homotopy invariant. We shall, then, suggest a new method, bypassing Feynman's path integrals, of computing quantum correlation functions when there is no anomaly. An exact solution for all quantum correlation functions shall be presented provided that the number of equivalence classes of observables is finite for each ghost numbers. Such a theory shall have its natural family parametrized by a smooth-formal moduli space in quantum coordinates, which notion generalize that of flat or special coordinates in topological string theories and shall be interpreted as an example of quasi-isomorphism of general QFT algebra.