Equations for the Green functions in quantum electrodynamics

Using the Freese-Matthews-Salam equations for chronological products of field operators, equations are written for Green functions of many electrons and photons. It is shown that in order to find any single Green function an infinite recursive system of these equations has to be solved. After adding terms containing the external electric current and external electromagnetic potential to the Lagrangian, this system is reduced to one equation containing functional derivatives of higher orders. It is shown that all relations and equations become much simpler when the definition of the Green function is appropriately changed.On leave from the Physical Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechoslovakia.     

Duality transformations in electrodynamics

Electrodynamics admitting a duality transformation group is considered. For such an electrodynamics an extension of the classical Rainich-Misner-Wheeler theory is presented.On leave of absence from the University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.     

Gauge transformations and quantum mechanics II. Physical interpretation of classical gauge transformations

New gauges are introduced. The potentials, vector and scalar, in these gauges are obtained in closed forms by the Green's function method. These closed form solutions are explicity expressed only in terms of the charge and current densities. The physical interpretation is on how potentials propagate from the charge and current densities. The Coulomb gauge and the Lorentz gauge are special cases of a new gauge defined in this paper. It is called the complete α-Lorentz gauge. The scalar potential propagates at speed αc from the charge density for any positive α. When α is one, the usual solutions for the Lorentz gauge are recovered. When α is not one, our results show that, in order to satisfy the requirement that electromagnetic fields be gauge invariant and in order to conform to Maxwell's interpretation that electromagnetic fields propagate at speed c from the charge and current densities (we only consider the vacuum), the vector potential must contain two mathematically and physically independent gradient components. Furthermore, one such component must propagate at speed αc while the other must at speed c from charge and current densities. Our discussions on the Coulomb gauge are based on the results obtained by letting α go to (positive) infinity. Guided by Maxwell's interpretation, we introduce a new decomposition of the vector potential in the Lorentz gauge into a longitudinal and a transverse component. For an arbitrary charge and current distribution, it is shown that the transverse component will generate all the fields only in the radiation zone. However, for a point charged particle, the transverse component only generates the “free fields”everywhere in the instantaneous rest frame of the charged particle.     

Spectral transformations of wideband fields and their coherence functions

Transformations are examined that allow the field and its coherence function to be related to the spectral-angular amplitude density and mean-power flux density of a distributed source, respectively.Kharkov Aviation Institute. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 36, No. 11, pp. 1061–1063, November, 1993.     

Pure massless electrodynamics in Veltman's gauge

To show how the method developed by C. Becchi, R. Stora and the present author to prove Slavnov's identities in gauge theories works in Abelian cases including a nonlinear gauge without any discrete symmetry, a specific example is worked out, exhibiting the details of the technical procedure.     

Quantum electrodynamics in the temporal gauge

We canonically quantize electrodynamics in the temporal gauge A₀ = 0. Realizing commutation relations in a Hilbert space containing unphysical longitudinal photons, we pay special attention to the implementation of Gauss's law and the attendant normalization difficulties for physical states. We then formulate the perturbation series and explicitly exhibit equivalence with the standard textbook treatment of the Coulomb gauge.     

Point-splitting regularization for gauge theories: Quantum electrodynamics

As a method of regularization, point splitting has played an essential role in the recent theoretical determination of the masses of the Higgs boson and the top quark. It is the purpose of this paper to put this pointsplitting regularization on a firm basis. The result turns out to be extremely simple: replace the usual vertex factor-ieγ ^µ in quantum electrodynamics by $$ - ie(\gamma _\mu - \frac{{\not p}}{{p \cdot \delta }}\delta _\mu ),$$ wherep is the momentum of the photon line, andδ ^µ is the distance for point splitting. No additional vertices are needed.     

The choice of test functions in gauge quantum field theories

We discuss the problem of the choice of test functions in gauge quantum field theories. Analysis of explicitly soluble models suggests that the test function spaces which are suitable for local and covariant formulation of gauge theories are the Gelfand and Shilov spaces , +>1. We also discuss a possible generalization of the spectral condition.     

Self-energy quantum electrodynamics: Multipole radiation

Within the context of Barut's self-field approach to quantum electrodynamics, we show that the exact relativistic expression for the Einstein A-coefficient of atomic spontaneous emission reduces, in the long wavelength approximation, to a form containing electric- and magnetic-like multipole contributions related to the transition charge and current distributions of the relativistic electron. A number of interesting features of the expressions involved are discussed, and their generalization to interacting composite systems is also pointed out.Dedicated to Prof. A. O. Barut, teacher and friend, on the occasion of his 65th birthday. I only hope it measures up to the man being honored.     

On the gauge variance of action functions under transformations on space-time

The problem of the gauge variance or invariance of action functions in classical mechanics is discussed from a group and path-theoretic viewpoint. By using the elementary theory of the cohomology of groups, criteria are introduced which enable one to decide when action functions gauge variant under a kinematical group are equivalent to action functions invariant under the transformations of the group. The criteria are applied to action functions gauge variant under Lorentz and Galilei transformations, where we deduce that any action function gauge variant under the Lorentz group is equivalent to an action function invariant under Lorentz transformations, whilst action functions gauge variant under the Galilei group are not necessarily equivalent to Galilei-invariant action functions. It is also shown that any action function gauge variant in a more restricted fashion which we define in the text, is necessarily equivalent to a kinetic-energy action.     

Infrared problems in quantum electrodynamics

We present a self-contained treatment of the infrared problem in Quantum Electrodynamics. Our program includes a derivation and proof of finiteness of modified reduction formulae for scattering in Coulomb potentials and unitary extensions of the relativistic Coulomb amplitudes in the forward direction. The renormalization structure of the theory is discussed in connection with the infrared problem and the renormalization group is reconsidered and shown to be inadequate for the “improvement” of perturbation theoretic results. However, simple forms of the renormalization group equations are easily established, which allow for a simple discussion of the renormalization structure and the extraction of physical quantities out of Green functions normalized at an arbitrary mass μ < m (m is the fermion mass). As an example of such a quantity we consider the construction of a renormalized and infrared finite mass-operator in presence of external fields. Scattering theory in Quantum Electrodynamics is elaborated in the context of the coherent state formulation of the asymptotic condition. Dimensional regularization techniques are systematically used for the reduction of coherent states and the construction of S-matrix elements and the cross-section formulae. The latter are obtained in a relatively simple form, which allows for a direct comparison with the exact cross-section formulae derived in the traditional context. This establishes the equivalence of the two approaches at the cross-section level. Various applications illustrate the techniques presented here and relative topics are discussed.     

Free probability and quantum electrodynamics

The stochastic limit of a free particle coupled to the quantum electromagnetic field without dipole approximation leads to many new features such as: interacting Fock space, Hilbert module commutation relations, disappearance of the crossing diagrams, etc. In the present paper we begin to study how the situation is modified if a free particle is replaced by a particle in a potential which is the Fourier transform of a bounded measure.We prove that the stochastic limit procedure converges and that the overall picture is similar to the free case with the important difference that the structure of the limit Hilbert module is strongly dependent on the wave operator of the particle.     

Multiple bremsstrahlung in gauge theories at high energies (I). General formalism for quantum electrodynamics

Multiple bremsstrahlung is studied on the level of tree diagrams for gauge theories. At high energies and in most of the kinematic region, the fermion mass can be neglected. In this case, it is natural to introduce helicity states for both fermions and gauge particles. Our general formalism is given in detail for quantum electrodynamics. In particular, it is expedient to use photon polarization vectors which depend on the fermion helicities. In this way, extensive cancellations between Feynman diagrams are accomplished automatically.