Atomic Radiative Transitions in Thermo Field Dynamics

In this work we rederive the Lamb-Retherford energy shift for an atomic electron in the presence of a thermal radiation. Using the Dalibard, Dupont-Roc and Cohen-Tannoudji (DDC) formalism, where physical observables are expressed as convolutions of suitable statistical functions, we construct the electromagnetic field propagator of Thermo Field Dynamics in the Coulomb gauge in order to investigate finite temperature effects on the atomic energy levels. In the same context, we also analyze the problem of the ground state stability.Comment: LaTex file, 13 pages, no figures, includes PACS numbers and minor changes in the text where a new section has been adde

Path-ordered Phase Factors in Scalar Quantum Electrodynamics

Starting from linear equations for the complex scalar field, the two- and three-point Green's functions are obtained in the infrared approximation. We show that the infrared singularity factorizes in the vertex function as in spinorial QED, reproducing in a straightforward way the result of lenghty perturbative calculations.Comment: 11 pages, LaTe

What's Wrong with Pauli-Villars Regularization in QED3QED_{3} ?

In this letter we argue that there is no ambiguity between the Pauli-Villars and other methods of regularization in (2+1)-dimensional quantum electrodynamics with respect to dynamical mass generation, provided we properly choose the couplings for the regulators.Comment: 07 pages, Latex, no figure

The Causal Phase in QED3QED_{3}

The operator ${\bf S}$ in Fock space which describes the scattering and particle production processes in an external time-dependent electromagnetic potential $A$ can be constructed from the one-particle S-matrix up to a physical phase $\lambda [A]$. In this work we determine this phase for $QED$ in (2+1) dimensions, by means of causality, and show that no ultraviolet divergences arise, in contrast to the usual formalism of $QED$.Comment: LaTex, 11 pages, no figure