Related papers: Confinement with Perturbation Theory, after All?
Theoretical and phenomenological studies indicate that the QCD coupling \alpha_s(Q^2) freezes in the infrared. Hadrons may then be described by a perturbative expansion around "Born" states bound only by a confining potential. A linear…
The similarities of hadrons and atoms motivate a study of the principles of QED bound states and of their applicability to QCD. The power series in $\alpha$ and $\log\alpha$ of the binding energy is reflected in the Fock expansion of the…
These lecture notes focus on the bound state sector of QCD. Motivated by data which suggests that the strong coupling \alpha_s(Q) freezes at low Q, and by similarities between the spectra of hadrons and atoms, I discuss if and how QCD bound…
A perturbative expansion for QED and QCD bound states is formulated in $A^0=0$ gauge. The constituents of each Fock state are bound by their instantaneous interaction. In QCD an O($\alpha_s^0$) confining potential arises from a homogeneous…
Bound state perturbation theory is well established for QED atoms. Today the hyperfine splitting of Positronium is known to $O(\alpha^7\log\alpha)$. Whereas standard expansions of scattering amplitudes start from free states, bound states…
Bound state poles in the $S$-matrix of perturbative QED are generated by the {\em divergence} of the expansion in $\alpha$. The perturbative corrections are necessarily singular when expanding around free, \order{\alpha^0} $in$ and $out$…
Guided by the observed properties of hadrons I formulate a perturbative bound state method for QED and QCD. The expansion starts with valence Fock states ($e^+e^-,\ q\bar q,\ qqq,\ gg$) bound by the instantaneous interaction of temporal…
Perturbative expansions for atoms in QED are developed around interacting states, typically defined by the Schr\"odinger equation. Calculations are nevertheless done using the standard Feynman diagram expansion around free states. The…
I briefly review a systematic approximation scheme of QCD in which the quark model picture of hadrons emerges at lowest order. A linear A^0 potential arises if Gauss' law is solved with a non-vanishing boundary condition at spatial…
A second order extension of the QED Lagrangian (including boson-boson coupling) has been used to describe q\bar q hadrons. Assuming massless elementary fermions (quantons) this results in a finite theory without open parameters, which may…
There is considerable freedom in setting boundary conditions to perturbation theory at $t=\pm\infty$. The standard PQED and PQCD expansions are based on the (empty) perturbative vacuum. Since the true QCD ground state is expected to have a…
Even a first approximation of bound states requires contributions of all powers in the coupling. This means that the concept of "lowest order bound state" needs to be defined. In these lectures I discuss the "Born" (no loop, lowest order in…
Bound states poles in scattering amplitudes are generated by the divergence of the perturbative series due to enhanced Coulomb scattering near thresholds. This suggests to organize bound state calculations according to an expansion in hbar,…
The colored objects -- quarks and gluons -- being confined in a small volume $V\sim R_0^3,$ $R_0\sim 0.5$fm inside the QCD bound state get there not small masses $m_{q\bar q}\sim 1$GeV, $m_g\sim 0.5$GeV. This drastically simplifies the QCD…
A Procedure is outlined that may be used as a starting point for a perturbative treatment of theories with permanent confinement. By using a counter term in the Lagrangian that renormalizes the infrared divergence in the Coulomb potential,…
Bound states are stationary in time and interact continuously. Even a first approximation of atomic wave functions in QED requires contributions of all orders in \alpha. Bound state perturbation theory depends on the choice of this first…
The propagation of colored quarks through strongly interacting systems, and their subsequent evolution into color-singlet hadrons, are phenomena that showcase unique facets of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). Medium-stimulated gluon…
We study bound states of abelian gauge theory in D=1+1 dimensions using an equal-time, Poincare-covariant framework. The normalization of the linear confining potential is determined by a boundary condition in the solution of Gauss' law for…
These lectures are divided into two parts. In Part 1 I discuss bound state topics at the level of a basic course in field theory: The derivation of the Schr\"odinger and Dirac equations from the QED Lagrangian, by summing Feynman diagrams…
An effective Lagrangian approach to describe the dynamics of confinement and symmetry breaking in the process of quark-gluon to hadron conversion is proposed. The deconfined quark and gluon degrees of freedom of the perturbative QCD vacuum…