Stability of the Vacuum and Quantization of the Electron-Positron Field for Strong External Fields
- 15 October 1973
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review D
- Vol. 8 (8), 2455-2457
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.8.2455
Abstract
A method is given for quantizing the electron-positron field in the external field of a superheavy nucleus. In essence we redefine the vacuum to be the state in which all negative-energy solutions of the Dirac equation, including bound states, are occupied. Among other desirable features, this provides a natural description of the instability of the state conventionally labeled as the vacuum and a continuity in the physical description of the system as a function of the nuclear charge.Keywords
This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
- Solution of the Dirac Equation for Strong External FieldsPhysical Review Letters, 1972
- Experimental Test of the Theory of Muonic AtomsPhysical Review Letters, 1971
- Interior electron shells in superheavy nucleiThe European Physical Journal A, 1969
- Vacuum Polarization in a Strong Coulomb FieldPhysical Review B, 1956