Darwin-Foldy term and proton charge radius

In this contribution we study the Dirac equation for a finite size proton in an external electric field with explicit introduction of Dirac-Pauli form factors. Our aim is twofold. On the one hand, we wish to study whether our conclusions regarding the exact cancellation between Dirac form factor and Foldy term contributions occurring for the neutron still hold for the proton. On the other hand, we wish to clearly illustrate some of the specific features of the description of a composite particle like the proton with the Dirac equation.Comment: contribution to XVIIth European Conference of Few-Body Problems in Physics, Evora, Portugal Sept 2000, to be published in Nucl. Phys.

Neutron charge radius and the Dirac equation

We consider the Dirac equation for a finite-size neutron in an external electric field. We explicitly incorporate Dirac-Pauli form factors into the Dirac equation. After a non-relativistic reduction, the Darwin-Foldy term is cancelled by a contribution from the Dirac form factor, so that the only coefficient of the external field charge density is $e/6 r^2_{En}$, i. e. the root mean square radius associated with the electric Sachs form factor . Our result is similar to a recent result of Isgur, and reconciles two apparently conflicting viewpoints about the use of the Dirac equation for the description of nucleons.Comment: 7 pages, no figures, to appear in Physical Review

Renormalization of the singular attractive 1/r41/r^4 potential

We study the radial Schr\"odinger equation for a particle of mass $m$ in the field of a singular attractive $g^2/{r^4}$ potential with particular emphasis on the bound states problem. Using the regularization method of Beane \textit{et al.}, we solve analytically the corresponding ``renormalization group flow" equation. We find in agreement with previous studies that its solution exhibits a limit cycle behavior and has infinitely many branches. We show that a continuous choice for the solution corresponds to a given fixed number of bound states and to low energy phase shifts that vary continuously with energy. We study in detail the connection between this regularization method and a conventional method modifying the short range part of the potential with an infinitely repulsive hard core. We show that both methods yield bound states results in close agreement even though the regularization method of Beane \textit{et al.} does not include explicitly any new scale in the problem. We further illustrate the use of the regularization method in the computation of electron bound states in the field of neutral polarizable molecules without dipole moment. We find the binding energy of s-wave polarization bound electrons in the field of C$_{60}$ molecules to be 17 meV for a scattering length corresponding to a hard core radius of the size of the molecule radius ($\sim 3.37$ \AA). This result can be further compared with recent two-parameter fits using the Lennard-Jones potential yielding binding energies ranging from 3 to 25 meV.Comment: 8 page

Strongly coupled positronium in a chiral phase

Strongly coupled positronium, considered in its pseudoscalar sector, is studied in the framework of relativistic quantum constraint dynamics. Case's method of self-adjoint extension of singular potentials, which avoids explicit introduction of regularization cut-offs, is adopted. It is found that, as the coupling constant \alpha increases, the bound state spectrum undergoes an abrupt change at the critical value \alpha = \alpha_c = 1/2. For \alpha > \alpha_c, the mass spectrum displays, in addition to the existing states for \alpha < \alpha_c, a new set of an infinite number of bound states concentrated in a narrow band starting at mass W=0. In the limit \alpha going to \alpha_c from above, these states shrink to a single massless state with a mass gap with the rest of the spectrum. This state has the required properties to represent a Goldstone boson and to signal a spontaneous breakdown of chiral symmetry. It is suggested that the critical coupling constant \alpha_c be viewed as a possible candidate for an ultra- violet stable fixed point of QED, with a distinction between two phases, joined to each other by a first-order chiral phase transition.Comment: 30 pages, Revtex, plus five figures available from the author

Self-adjoint extensions and spectral analysis in Calogero problem

In this paper, we present a mathematically rigorous quantum-mechanical treatment of a one-dimensional motion of a particle in the Calogero potential $\alpha x^{-2}$. Although the problem is quite old and well-studied, we believe that our consideration, based on a uniform approach to constructing a correct quantum-mechanical description for systems with singular potentials and/or boundaries, proposed in our previous works, adds some new points to its solution. To demonstrate that a consideration of the Calogero problem requires mathematical accuracy, we discuss some "paradoxes" inherent in the "naive" quantum-mechanical treatment. We study all possible self-adjoint operators (self-adjoint Hamiltonians) associated with a formal differential expression for the Calogero Hamiltonian. In addition, we discuss a spontaneous scale-symmetry breaking associated with self-adjoint extensions. A complete spectral analysis of all self-adjoint Hamiltonians is presented.Comment: 39 page

Regularization of the Singular Inverse Square Potential in Quantum Mechanics with a Minimal length

We study the problem of the attractive inverse square potential in quantum mechanics with a generalized uncertainty relation. Using the momentum representation, we show that this potential is regular in this framework. We solve analytically the s-wave bound states equation in terms of Heun's functions. We discuss in detail the bound states spectrum for a specific form of the generalized uncertainty relation. The minimal length may be interpreted as characterizing the dimension of the system.Comment: 30 pages, 3 figure