Time dependence of the field energy densities surrounding sources: Application to scalar mesons near point sources and to electromagnetic fields near molecules

Journal Article · Wed Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 1987 · Phys. Rev. A; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.36.475· OSTI ID:6398574

Persico, F; Power, E A

The time dependence of the dressing-undressing process, i.e., the acquiring or losing by a source of a boson field intensity and hence of a field energy density in its neighborhood, is considered by examining some simple soluble models. First, the loss of the virtual field is followed in time when a point source is suddenly decoupled from a neutral scalar meson field. Second, an initially bare point source acquires a virtual meson cloud as the coupling is switched on. The third example is that of an initially bare molecule interacting with the vacuum of the electromagnetic field to acquire a virtual photon cloud. In all three cases the dressing-undressing is shown to take place within an expanding sphere of radius r = ct centered at the source. At each point in space the energy density tends, for large times, to that of the ground state of the total system. Differences in the time dependence of the dressing between the massive scalar field and the massless electromagnetic field are discussed. The results are also briefly discussed in the light of Feinberg's ideas on the nature of half-dressed states in quantum field theory.

• Research Organization: Centro Interuniversitario, Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione and Gruppo Nazionale di Struttura della Materia del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Fisica dell' Universita-grave-accent, Via Archirafi 36, 90123 Palermo, Italy and Istituto per le Applicazioni Interdisiplinari Fisica, Via Archirafi 36,
• OSTI ID: 6398574
• Journal Information: Phys. Rev. A; (United States), Vol. 36:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
SCALAR FIELDS
ENERGY DENSITY
ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS
FLUX DENSITY
MOLECULES
MORPHOLOGY
POINT SOURCES
QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS
SCALAR MESONS
TIME DEPENDENCE
BOSONS
ELECTRODYNAMICS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FIELD THEORIES
HADRONS
MESONS
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
RADIATION SOURCES
645400* - High Energy Physics- Field Theory