We discuss gauge transformations in QED coupled to a charged spinor field,
and examine whether we can gauge-transform the entire formulation of the theory
from one gauge to another, so that not only the gauge and spinor fields, but
also the forms of the operator-valued Hamiltonians are transformed. The
discussion includes the covariant gauge, in which the gauge condition and
Gauss's law are not primary constraints on operator-valued quantities; it also
includes the Coulomb gauge, and the spatial axial gauge, in which the
constraints are imposed on operator-valued fields by applying the
Dirac-Bergmann procedure. We show how to transform the covariant, Coulomb and
spatial axial gauges to what we call
``common form,'' in which all particle excitation modes have identical
properties. We also show that, once that common form has been reached, QED in
different gauges has a common time-evolution operator that defines
time-translation for states that represent systems of electrons and photons.
By combining gauge transformations with changes of representation from
standard to common form, the entire apparatus of a gauge theory can be
transformed from one gauge to another.Comment: Contribution for a special issue of Foundations of Physics honoring
Fritz Rohrlich; edited by Larry P. Horwitz, Tel-Aviv University, and Alwyn
van der Merwe, University of Denver (Plenum Publishing, New York); 40 pages,
REVTEX, Preprint UCONN-93-3, 1 figure available upon request from author