The Role of zero modes in the canonical quantization of heavy fermion QED in light cone coordinates

Apr 30, 1993
27 pages
Published in:
  • Phys.Rev.D 48 (1993) 5873-5882
e-Print:
Report number:
  • CWRU-TH-04-93

Citations per year

199519961997601
Abstract:
Four-dimensional heavy-fermion QED is studied in light-cone coordinates with (anti-)periodic field boundary conditions. We carry out a consistent light-cone canonical quantization of this model using the Dirac algorithm for a system with first- and second-class constraints. To examine the role of the zero modes, we consider the quantization procedure in {the }zero-mode {and the non-zero-mode} sectors separately. In both sectors we obtain the physical variables and their canonical commutation relations. The physical Hamiltonian is constructed via a step-by-step exclusion of the unphysical degrees of freedom. An example using this Hamiltonian in which the zero modes play a role is the verification of the correct Coulomb potential between two heavy fermions.
  • quantum electrodynamics
  • fermion: heavy
  • potential
  • Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation
  • quantization
  • Hamiltonian formalism
  • field theory: light cone