APPROXIMATE SOLUTIONS OF THE BETHE-SALPETER EQUATION
A modified representation of the Bethe-Salpeter wave function for scalar particles interacting via a massless scalar field is presented and related to Salpeter's approximate wave function. A procedure for obtaining approximate solutions of the Bethe-Salpeter equation for arbitrary interactions is introduced. The method is based on a variational principle and is capable of high accuracy when used with the trial functions developed. The choice of trial function is suggested by the important features of the exact solutions for the special case described above. The method is applied to a finite range potential which corresponds to the lowestorder approximation to a simple field theory. The results of the calculation suggest that the effect of retardation is large when an interaction is transmitted by a field with mass. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- Carnegie Inst. of Tech., Pittsburgh
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- NSA Number:
- NSA-15-008243
- OSTI ID:
- 4108608
- Journal Information:
- J. Math. Phys., Journal Name: J. Math. Phys. Vol. Vol: 1
- Country of Publication:
- Country unknown/Code not available
- Language:
- English
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