创立量子色动力学的关键进阶--有关量子色动力学创建的逻辑与历史注解

Key Steps Toward the Creation of QCD: Notes on the Logic and History of the Genesis of QCD

量子色动力学的创立是科学历史上的重大事件之一。要去鉴别量子色动力学得以创立的关键进阶,首先需要追问何为关键进阶的标准。本质上,标准应该是指某一进阶的历史效力,即它是否已经提供了一个新的视角、是否已经开辟了一个新的探究方向、是否已经开启了一道新的研究程序,并且是否由此有效地推动科学探究向前发展。依此标准,量子色动力学得以创立的学科基质应该包括三个部分:S-矩阵理论、流代数、组分夸克模型;迈向量子色动力学创立的起点应该是1962年所提出的流代数,在获得了局域流代数求和规则、标度不变性和部分子、光锥流代数三大突破之后,它的终点应该是1972年的那次伟大的综合。要准确理解量子色动力学创立中的概念变化,需要正确剖析物理学和形而上学之间的复杂关系。通常,迫于物理学前行的压力,人们必然会对形而上的标准进行相应修改和调整。理解到这一点,将有助于我们去澄清困扰盖尔曼的夸克实在性问题。

The creation of QCD is one of greatest achievements in the history of science. In order to appreciate the crucial steps leading to the creation of QCD, I suggest that the criterion should not be that a step should have original ideas without predecessors. Rather, the criterion should be the historical effectiveness of a step. That is, a step is crucial only when it has provided a new vision, broken a new direction for explorations, started a new research program, and thus effectively pushed the scientific explorations ahead. According to the criterion, I would suggest that the journey toward the creation of QCD started from current algebra proposed in 1962. After three breakthroughs of local current algebra sum rules, scaling and partons, and light cone current algebra, it ended with a great synthesis which, announced in 1972, was in fact the first articulation of QCD.