Combinatorics of 1-particle irreducible n-point functions via coalgebra in quantum field theory

We give a coalgebra structure on 1-vertex irreducible graphs which is that of a cocommutative coassociative graded connected coalgebra. We generalize the coproduct to the algebraic representation of graphs so as to express a bare 1-particle irreducible n-point function in terms of its loop order contributions. The algebraic representation is so that graphs can be evaluated as Feynman graphs

A differential identity for Green functions

If P is a differential operator with constant coefficients, an identity is derived to calculate the action of exp(P) on the product of two functions. In many-body theory, P describes the interaction Hamiltonian and the identity yields a hierarchy of Green functions. The identity is first derived for scalar fields and the standard hierarchy is recovered. Then the case of fermions is considered and the identity is used to calculate the generating function for the Green functions of an electron system in a time-dependent external potential.Comment: 14 page

Gell-Mann and Low formula for degenerate unperturbed states

The Gell-Mann and Low switching allows to transform eigenstates of an unperturbed Hamiltonian $H_0$ into eigenstates of the modified Hamiltonian $H_0 + V$. This switching can be performed when the initial eigenstate is not degenerate, under some gap conditions with the remainder of the spectrum. We show here how to extend this approach to the case when the ground state of the unperturbed Hamiltonian is degenerate. More precisely, we prove that the switching procedure can still be performed when the initial states are eigenstates of the finite rank self-adjoint operator \cP_0 V \cP_0, where \cP_0 is the projection onto a degenerate eigenspace of $H_0$

The Hopf algebra of Feynman graphs in QED

We report on the Hopf algebraic description of renormalization theory of quantum electrodynamics. The Ward-Takahashi identities are implemented as linear relations on the (commutative) Hopf algebra of Feynman graphs of QED. Compatibility of these relations with the Hopf algebra structure is the mathematical formulation of the physical fact that WT-identities are compatible with renormalization. As a result, the counterterms and the renormalized Feynman amplitudes automatically satisfy the WT-identities, which leads in particular to the well-known identity $Z_1=Z_2$.Comment: 13 pages. Latex, uses feynmp. Minor corrections; to appear in LM

Relating on-shell and off-shell formalism in perturbative quantum field theory

In the on-shell formalism (mostly used in perturbative quantum field theory) the entries of the time ordered product T are on-shell fields (i.e. the basic fields satisfy the free field equations). With that, (multi)linearity of T is incompatible with the Action Ward identity. This can be circumvented by using the off-shell formalism in which the entries of T are off-shell fields. To relate on- and off-shell formalism correctly, a map sigma from on-shell fields to off-shell fields was introduced axiomatically by Duetsch and Fredenhagen. In that paper it was shown that, in the case of one real scalar field in N=4 dimensional Minkowski space, these axioms have a unique solution. However, this solution was given there only recursively. We solve this recurrence relation and give a fully explicit expression for sigma in the cases of the scalar, Dirac and gauge fields for arbitrary values of the dimension N.Comment: The case of gauge fields was added. 16 page

The Hopf Algebra of Renormalization, Normal Coordinates and Kontsevich Deformation Quantization

Using normal coordinates in a Poincar\'e-Birkhoff-Witt basis for the Hopf algebra of renormalization in perturbative quantum field theory, we investigate the relation between the twisted antipode axiom in that formalism, the Birkhoff algebraic decomposition and the universal formula of Kontsevich for quantum deformation.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figure

Relativistic corrections in magnetic systems

We present a weak-relativistic limit comparison between the Kohn-Sham-Dirac equation and its approximate form containing the exchange coupling, which is used in almost all relativistic codes of density-functional theory. For these two descriptions, an exact expression of the Dirac Green's function in terms of the non-relativistic Green's function is first derived and then used to calculate the effective Hamiltonian, i.e., Pauli Hamiltonian, and effective velocity operator in the weak-relativistic limit. We point out that, besides neglecting orbital magnetism effects, the approximate Kohn-Sham-Dirac equation also gives relativistic corrections which differ from those of the exact Kohn-Sham-Dirac equation. These differences have quite serious consequences: in particular, the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of an uniaxial ferromagnet and the anisotropic magnetoresistance of a cubic ferromagnet are found from the approximate Kohn-Sham-Dirac equation to be of order $1/c^2$, whereas the correct results obtained from the exact Kohn-Sham-Dirac equation are of order $1/c^4$ . We give a qualitative estimate of the order of magnitude of these spurious terms

On some aspects of the definition of scattering states in quantum field theory

The problem of extending quantum-mechanical formal scattering theory to a more general class of models that also includes quantum field theories is discussed, with the aim of clarifying certain aspects of the definition of scattering states. As the strong limit is not suitable for the definition of scattering states in quantum field theory, some other limiting procedure is needed. Two possibilities are considered, the abelian limit and adiabatic switching. Formulas for the scattering states based on both methods are discussed, and it is found that generally there are significant differences between the two approaches. As an illustration of the application and the features of these formulas, S-matrix elements and energy corrections in two quantum field theoretical models are calculated using (generalized) old-fashioned perturbation theory. The two methods are found to give equivalent results.Comment: 20 page

The structure of Green functions in quantum field theory with a general state

In quantum field theory, the Green function is usually calculated as the expectation value of the time-ordered product of fields over the vacuum. In some cases, especially in degenerate systems, expectation values over general states are required. The corresponding Green functions are essentially more complex than in the vacuum, because they cannot be written in terms of standard Feynman diagrams. Here, a method is proposed to determine the structure of these Green functions and to derive nonperturbative equations for them. The main idea is to transform the cumulants describing correlations into interaction terms.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure