E.C.G. Stueckelberg: a forerunner of modern physics

TL;DR

This paper reviews E.C.G. Stueckelberg's pioneering contributions to physics, focusing on his formalism for massive vector fields, its applications, and its relevance to modern theories like string theory and LQG.

Contribution

It highlights the development and applications of the Stueckelberg formalism, connecting historical work to modern theoretical frameworks.

Findings

Stueckelberg's formalism describes massive vector fields effectively.

Applications include nuclear phenomena and attempts at demonstrating renormalizability.

The Stueckelberg approach is relevant to string theory and Loop Quantum Gravity.

Abstract

The pioneering work of E.C.G. Stueckelberg is briefly analyzed: the formalism of the Stueckelberg field, able to describe a massive vector field, is reviewed, and some applications are presented. In particular, starting from his very first application, devoted to describe nuclear phenomena known in the Thirties, later attempts to demonstrate the renormalizability of the model are considered. Finally, also string theory and LQG are illustrated to be a suitable scenario for the Stueckelberg field.