Skip to main content

Ground states in non-relativistic quantum electrodynamics

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Stability of Matter: From Atoms to Stars

Abstract

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 all values of the fine-structure constant and the ultraviolet cutoff. We also show the same thing for a many-particle system under physically natural conditions.

Work partially supported by the Faculty Development Program of UAB.

Work partially supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grant PIIY 98-20650-A01.

Work partially supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grant DMS 00-70589.

© copyright 2000 by the authors. Reproduction of this article, in its entirety, by any means.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. S. Agmon, Lectures on exponential decay of solutions of second ordler elliptic equations: Bounds on eigenfunctions of N-body Schrödinger operators, Mathematical Notes 29, Princeton University Press (1982)

    Google Scholar 

  2. A. Arai, Rigorous theory of spectra and radiation for a model in quantum electrodynamics, J. Math. Phys. 24, 1896–1910 (1983)

    Article  ADS  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  3. A. Arai, M. Hirokawa. On the existence and uniqueness of ground states of a generalized spin-boson model, J. Funct. Anal. 151, 455–503 (1997)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  4. A. Arai. M. Hirokawa, Ground stales of a general class of quantum field Hamiltonians, Rev. Math. Phys. 12. 1085–1135 (2000), mp_arc 99–179 (1999)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  5. A. Arai, M, Hirokawa, F. Hiroshima, On the absence of eigenvectors of Hamiltonians in a class of massless quantum field models without infrared cutoff, J. Funct. Anal. 168, 470–497 (1999)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  6. V. Bach, J. Fröhlich, I.M. Sigal, Mathematical theory of nonrelativistic matter and radiation, Lett. Math. Phys. 34, 183–201 (1995)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. V. Bach, J. Fröhlich, I.M. Sigal, Quantum electrodynamics of confined non-relativistic particles, Adv. Math. 137, 299–395 (1998)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  8. V. Bach, J. Fröhlich, I.M. Sigal, Spectral analysis for systems of atoms and molecules coupled to the quantized radiation field, Commun. Math. Phys. 207, 249–290 (1999)

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  9. H. Bethe, The electromagnetic shift of energy levels, Phys. Rev, 72, 339–342 (1947)

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  10. J. Combes, L. Thomas, Asymptotic behavior of eigenfunctions for multiparticle Schrödinger operators, Commun, Math. Phys. 34, 251–270 (1973)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. J. Dereziński, C. Gérard, Asymptotic completeness in quantum field theory, Massive Pauli-Fierz Hamiltonians, Rev. Math. Phys. 11, 383–450 (1999)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  12. M. Dresden, H.A. Kramers, Between tradition and revolution, Springer Verlag (1987)

    Google Scholar 

  13. J. Fröhlich, On the infrared problem in a model of scalar electrons and masselss scalar bosons, Ann. Inst. H. Poincaré 19, 1–103 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  14. J. Fröhlich, Existence of dressed one-electron stales in a class of persistent models, Fortschritte Phys. 22, 159–198 (1974)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. C. Gérard, On the existence of ground stales for massless Pauli-Fierz Hamiltonians, Ann. Henri Poincaré 1, 443–459 (2000), mp_arc 99–158 (1999)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  16. M. Hirokawa, Remarks on the ground state energy of the spin-boson model, An application of the Wigner-Weisskopf model, Rev. Math. Phys. 13, 221–251 (2001). mp_arc 00–239 (2000)

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  17. F. Hiroshima, Ground states of a model in nonrelativistic quantum electrodynamics I and II, J. Math. Phys. 40, 6209–6222 (1999), 41, 661–674 (2000)

    Article  ADS  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  18. F. Hiroshima, The self-adjointness and relative hound of the Pauli-Fierz Hamiltonian in quantum electrodynamics for arbitrary coupling constants, preprint (October, 2000)

    Google Scholar 

  19. F. Hiroshima, H. Spohn, Enhanced binding through coupling to a quantum field, Math-ematical Physics Preprint Archive, rnp_arc 01-39 (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  20. W. Hunziker, I.M. Sigal, The general theory of N-body quantum systems, in: Mathematical quantum theory. II. Schrödinger operators (Vancouver, BC, 1993), 35–72, CRM Proc. Lecture Notes, 8, Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, RI, 1995

    Google Scholar 

  21. E.H. Lieb, M. Loss, Self-Energy of Electrons in Non-perturbative QED, in: Differential Equations and Mathematical Physics, University of Alabama, Birmingham, 1999, R. Weikard, G. Weinstein, eds., 255–269, Internat. Press (1999). arXiv math-ph/9908020, mp_arc 99-305

    Google Scholar 

  22. E. H. Lieb, M. Loss, Analysis, Graduate Studies in Mathematics, American Mathematical Society, 1997

    Google Scholar 

  23. A. O’Connor. Exponential decay of bound-state wave functions, Commun. Math. Phys. 32, 319–340 (1973)

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. W. Pauli, M. Fietz, Zur Theorie der Emission Iangwelliger Lichtquanten, Nuovo Ci-mento 15, 167–188 (1938)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. M. Reed, B. Simon, Methods of modern mathematical physics, vol 4. Theorem XIII.39, Academic Press (1978)

    Google Scholar 

  26. H. Spohn, Asymptotic completeness for Rayleigh scattering, J. Math. Phys. 38, 2281–2296 (1997)

    Article  ADS  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  27. H. Spohn, Ground state(s) of the spin-boson Hamillonian, Commun. Math. Phys. 123, 277–304 (1989)

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  28. H. Spohn, Ground state of a quantum particle coupled to a scalar Bose field, Lett Math. Phys. 44, 9–16 (1998)

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Griesemer, M., Lieb, E.H., Loss, M. (2005). Ground states in non-relativistic quantum electrodynamics. In: Thirring, W. (eds) The Stability of Matter: From Atoms to Stars. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-27056-6_41

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-27056-6_41

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-22212-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-27056-0

  • eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics