Existence of Atoms and Molecules in Non-Relativistic Quantum Electrodynamics
Elliott H. Lieb, Michael Loss
备注：
LaTex file, 40 pages, errors and misprints corrected and references added. This paper will appear in ATMP (Advances in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics)
We show that the Hamiltonian describing N nonrelativistic electrons with spin, interacting with the quantized radiation field and several fixed nuclei with total charge Z has a ground state when N <Z+1. The result holds for any value of the fine structure constant alpha and for any value of the ultraviolet cutoff Lambda on the radiation field. There is no infrared cutoff. The basic mathematical ingredient in our proof is a novel way of localizing the electromagnetic field in such a way that the errors in the energy are of smaller order than 1/L, where L is the localization radius.
The classical relativistic least action principle is revisited from the vacuum field theory approach. New physically motivated versions of relativistic Lorentz type forces are derived, a new relativistic hadronic string model is proposed and analyzed in detail.
A physical subspace and physical Hilbert space associated with asymptotic fields of nonrelativistic quantum electrodynamics are constructed through the Gupta-Bleuler procedure. Asymptotic completeness is shown and a physical Hamiltonian is defined on the physical Hilbert space.
The work is devoted to studying some new classical electrodynamics models of interacting charged point particles and the aspects of the quantization via the Dirac procedure related to them. Based on the vacuum field theory no-geometry approach developed in [6,7,9], the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian reformulations of some alternative classical electrodynamics models are devised. The Dirac-type quantization procedure for the considered alternative electrodynamics models, based on the obtained canonical Hamiltonian formulations, is developed.
We consider an Hamiltonian with ultraviolet and infrared cutoffs, describing the interaction of relativistic electrons and positrons in the Coulomb potential with photons in Coulomb gauge. The interaction includes both interaction of the current density with transversal photons and the Coulomb interaction of charge density with itself. We prove that the Hamiltonian is self-adjoint and has a ground state for sufficiently small coupling constants.
We consider a (semi-)relativistic spin-1/2 particle interacting with quantized radiation. The Hamiltonian has the form $\hat{H}_c^V:=\{c^2[(\mathbf{p}+{\bf A})^2+{\bf σ}\cdot{\bf B}]+(mc^2)^2\}^{1/2}-mc^2+V+H_f$. Assuming that the potential $|V|$ is bounded with respect to the momentum $|\mathbf{p}|$, we show that $\hat{H}_c^V$ converges in norm-resolvent sense to the usual Pauli-Fierz operator when $c$, the speed of light, tends to $\infty$.
In this note we provide details of the proofs of the main results of our paper [19] to the standard model of non-relativistic quantum electrodynamics in which particles are minimally coupled to the quantized electromagnetic field at energies below the ionization threshold. Recall that in [19] we proved several lower bounds on the growth of the distance of the escaping photons/phonons to the particle system. Using some of these results, we proved asymptotic completeness (for Rayleigh scattering) on the states for which the expectation of the photon/phonon number is bounded uniformly in time. Ho…
A translation invariant Hamiltonian $H$ in the nonrelativistic quantum electrodynamics is studied. This Hamiltonian is decomposed with respect to the total momentum $\tot$: $$H=\int_{\BR} ^\oplus \fri(P) dP,$$ where the self-adjoint fiber Hamiltonian $\fri(P)$ is defined for arbitrary values of coupling constants. It is discussed a relationship between rotation invariance of $H(P)$ and polarization vectors, and functional integral representations of $n$ point Euclidean Green functions of $H(P)$ is given. From these, some applications concerning with degeneracy of ground states, ground state en…
We prove the limiting absorption principle for the standard model of the non-relativistic quantum electrodynamics (QED) and for the Nelson model describing interactions of electrons with phonons. To this end we use the spectral renormalization group technique on the continuous spectrum in conjunction with the Mourre theory.
We show that relativistic quantum electrodynamics in the Coulomb gauge satisfies the following bound, which establishes stability: let $H(Λ,V)$ denote the Hamiltonian of $QED_{1+3}$ on the three-dimensional torus of volume $V$ and with ultraviolet cutoff $Λ$. Then there exists a constant $0<μ(Λ,V)<\infty$ (the vacuum energy renormalization) such that the renormalized Hamiltonian is positive: $H_{ren}(Λ,V) \equiv H_{Λ,V}+μ_{Λ, V}\cdot \mathbb{1} \ge 0 $.
We consider two different models of a hydrogenic atom in a quantized electromagnetic field that treat the electron relativistically. The first one is a no-pair model in the free picture, the second one is given by the semi-relativistic Pauli-Fierz Hamiltonian. We prove that the no-pair operator is semi-bounded below and that its spectral subspaces corresponding to energies below the ionization threshold are exponentially localized. Both results hold true, for arbitrary values of the fine-structure constant, $e^2$, and the ultra-violet cut-off, $Λ$, and for all nuclear charges less than the cri…
In previous paper derivations of the Green function have been given for 5D off-shell electrodynamics in the framework of the manifestly covariant relativistic dynamics of Stueckelberg (with invariant evolution parameter $τ$). In this paper, we reconcile these derivations resulting in different explicit forms, and relate our results to the conventional fundamental solutions of linear 5D wave equations published in the mathematical literature. We give physical arguments for the choice of the Green function retarded in the fifth variable $τ$.
The electromagnetic fields in Maxwell's theory satisfy linear equations in the classical vacuum. This is modified in classical non-linear electrodynamic theories. To date there has been little experimental evidence that any of these modified theories are tenable. However with the advent of high-intensity lasers and powerful laboratory magnetic fields this situation may be changing. We argue that an approach involving the self-consistent relativistic motion of a smooth fluid-like distribution of matter (composed of a large number of charged or neutral particles) in an electromagnetic field offe…
We study a mean-field relativistic model which is able to describe both the behavior of finitely many spin-1/2 particles like electrons and of the Dirac sea which is self-consistently polarized in the presence of the real particles. The model is derived from the QED Hamiltonian in Coulomb gauge neglecting the photon field. All our results are non-perturbative and mathematically rigorous.
We find a two-degree-of-freedom Hamiltonian for the time-symmetric problem of straight line motion of two electrons in direct relativistic interaction. This time-symmetric dynamical system appeared 100 years ago and it was popularized in the 1940s by the work of Wheeler and Feynman in electrodynamics, which was left incomplete due to the lack of a Hamiltonian description. The form of our Hamiltonian is such that the action of a Lorentz transformation is explicitly described by a canonical transformation (with rescaling of the evolution parameter). The method is closed and defines the Hamiltoni…
Spatial localization of the electrons of an atom or molecule is studied in models of non-relativistic matter coupled to quantized radiation. We give two definitions of the ionization threshold. One in terms of spectral data of cluster Hamiltonians, and one in terms of minimal energies of non-localized states. We show that these two definitions agree, and that the electrons described by a state with energy below the ionization threshold are localized in a small neighborhood of the nuclei with a probability that approaches 1 exponentially fast with increasing radius of the neighborhood. The latt…
This work addresses the problem of infrared mass renormalization for a scalar electron in a translation-invariant model of non-relativistic QED. We assume that the interaction of the electron with the quantized electromagnetic field comprises a fixed ultraviolet regularization and an infrared regularization parametrized by $σ>0$. For the value $p=0$ of the conserved total momentum of electron and photon field, bounds on the renormalized mass are established which are uniform in $σ\to0$, and the existence of a ground state is proved. For $|p|>0$ sufficiently small, bounds on the renormalized ma…
Starting from a formal Hamiltonian as found in the physics literature -- omitting photons -- we define a renormalized Hamiltonian through charge and mass renormalization. We show that the restriction to the one-electron subspace is well-defined. Our construction is non-perturbative and does not use a cut-off. The Hamiltonian is relevant for the description of the Lamb shift in muonic atoms.
The excited states of a charged particle interacting with the quantized electromagnetic field and an external potential all decay, but such a particle should have a true ground state--one that minimizes the energy and satisfies the Schrödinger equation. We prove quite generally that this state exists for {\it all values} of the fine-structure constant and ultraviolet cutoff. We also show the same thing for a many-particle system under physically natural conditions.
We briefly report on our method [Fiore JPA 2017] of simplifying the equations of motion of charged particles in an electromagnetic field that is the sum of a plane travelling wave and a static part; it is based on changes of the dependent variables and the independent one (light-like coordinate instead of time t). We sketch its application to a few cases of extreme laser-induced accelerations, both in vacuum and in plane problems at the vacuum-plasma interface, where we are able to reduce the system of the (Lorentz-Maxwell and continuity) partial differential equations into a family of decoupl…
Within no inertial frame can stationary charge exist. All charge, wherever it exists, experiences perpetual interaction with charge elsewhere and so can only exist as non-trivial current. It follows that the notion of the electrostatic scalar potential is a pragmatic idealization - it is not fundamental and is useful simply because, in many practical circumstances, the time scales of interest are sufficiently small that charges can be considered stationary in appropriately chosen inertial frames. In this paper, we take the view that the subsuming of the electrostatic scalar potential within cl…
Instead of a linear system of equations for a free electromagnetic field, we propose a nonlinear system of equations. The classical electrodynamics is preseved. The appeared solutions (the electromagnetic fields) having photon properties. The theory posits the vacuum is a physical medium. The most important problems of relativistic interaction of interpenetrating mediums are studied.
The effective mass $\mass$ of the the Pauli-Fierz Hamiltonain with ultraviolet cutoff $Λ$ and the bare mass $m$ in nonrelativistic QED with spin 1/2 is investigated. Analytic properties of $\mass$ in coupling constant $e$ are shown and explicit forms of constants $a_1(Λ/m)$ and $a_2(Λ/m)$ depending on $Λ/m$ such that $$\mass/m =1 + a_1(Λ/m) e^2+ a_2(Λ/m) e^4+ {\mathcal O}(e^6)$$ are given. It is shown that the spin interaction enhances the effective mass and that there exist strictly positive constants $b_1,b_2, c_1$ and $c_2$ such that $$\d b_1\leq \lim_{Λ\to\infty} \frac{a_1(\Lamdda/m)}{\log…
We propose a new method to derive certain higher order estimates in quantum electrodynamics. Our method is particularly convenient in the application to the non-local semi-relativistic models of quantum electrodynamics as it avoids the use of iterated commutator expansions. We re-derive higher order estimates obtained earlier by Fröhlich, Griesemer, and Schlein and prove new estimates for a non-local molecular no-pair operator.
We introduce a relativistic splitting structure as a means to map fields and equations of electromagnetism from curved four-dimensional space-time to three-dimensional observer's space. We focus on a minimal set of mathematical structures that are directly motivated by the language of the physical theory. Space-time, world-lines, time translation, space platforms, and time synchronization all find their mathematical counterparts. The splitting structure is defined without recourse to coordinates or frames. This is noteworthy since, in much of the prevalent literature, observers are identified …
Self-Dual Electrodynamics via the Characteristic Method: Relativistic and Carrollian Perspectives
Ningbo University（宁波大学）；Peking University（北京大学）；Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)（马克斯·普朗克引力物理研究所（爱因斯坦研究所））；Southeast University（东南大学）；King’s College London（伦敦国王学院）
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The relativistic ``no pair'' model of quantum electrodynamics uses the Dirac operator, D(A), for the electron dynamics together with the usual self-energy of the quantized ultraviolet cutoff electromagnetic field A -- in the Coulomb gauge. There are no positrons because the electron wave functions are constrained to lie in the positive spectral subspace of some Dirac operator, D, but the model is defined for any number, N, of electrons, and hence describes a true many-body system. In addition to the electrons there are a number, K, of fixed nuclei with charges \leq Z. If the fields are not qua…
We show that the molecular relativistic Thomas-Fermi-Weizsäcker functional consisting of atoms of atomic numbers $Z_1,...,Z_k$ has a minimizer, if the particle number $N$ is constrained to a number less or equal to the total nuclear charge $Z:=Z_1+...+Z_K$. Moreover, there is no minimizer, if the particle number exceeds $2.56 Z$. This gives lower and upper bounds on the maximal ionization of heavy atoms.
We prove the first correction to the leading Thomas-Fermi energy for the ground state energy of atoms and molecules in a model where the kinetic energy of the electrons is treated relativistically. The leading Thomas-Fermi energy, established in [Sorensen], as well as the correction given here are of semi-classical nature. Our result on atoms and molecules is proved from a general semi-classical estimate for relativistic operators with potentials with Coulomb-like singularities. This semi-classical estimate is obtained using the coherent state calculus introduced in [Solovej-Spitzer]. The pape…
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In this article, we put forward a new approach to electrodynamics of materials. Based on the identification of induced electromagnetic fields as the microscopic counterparts of polarization and magnetization, we systematically employ the mutual functional dependencies of induced, external and total field quantities. This allows for a unified, relativistic description of the electromagnetic response without assuming the material to be composed of electric or magnetic dipoles. Using this approach, we derive universal (material-independent) relations between electromagnetic response functions suc…
A simple mathematical procedure is introduced which allows redefining in an exact way divergent integrals and limits that appear in the basic equations of classical electrodynamics with point charges. In this way all divergences are at once removed without affecting the locality and the relativistic covariance of the theory, and with no need for mass renormalization. The procedure is first used to obtain a finite expression for the electromagnetic energy-momentum of the system. We show that the relativistic Lorentz-Dirac equation can be deduced from the conservation of this electromagnetic ene…
