AN ANALYSIS OF THE SELF-ENERGY PROBLEM FOR THE ELECTRON IN QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS

Abstract

Feynman's S-matrix for the self-energy of the free resting electron is evaluated without the restriction that the virtual photons in the intermediate state have only positive energy. Both the one-electron theory and the hole theory of the positron are treated. It is shown that in the one-electron theory the normally quadratically divergent transverse part of the self-energy vanishes if the photon field is assumed to be symmetric in positive and negative energies. A similar theorem does not hold in the hole theory. A particular type of interaction leads to a vanishing self-energy in one-electron theory. However, this does not solve the self-energy problem, as in this case radiation corrections to scattering would vanish as well. The S-matrix for the self-energy of a bound electron is evaluated in a similar manner. The decay probability for an excited state is calculated as the imaginary part of the self-energy. The correct value is obtained only in hole theory and in interaction with positive energy photons. In the special case in which the external field is a uniform magnetic field, again only hole theory with this same interaction gives the correct value for the anomalous magnetic moment.