Fractal propagators in QED and QCD and implications for the problem of confinement

We show that QED radiative corrections change the propagator of a charged Dirac particle so that it acquires a fractional anomalous exponent connected with the fine structure constant. The result is a nonlocal object which represents a particle with a roughened trajectory whose fractal dimension can...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gulzari,S. (author)
Other Authors: Srivastava,Y. N. (author), Swain,J. (author), Widom,A. (author)
Format: article
Language:eng
Published: 2007
Subjects:
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-97332007000200021
Country:Brazil
Oai:oai:scielo:S0103-97332007000200021
Description
Summary:We show that QED radiative corrections change the propagator of a charged Dirac particle so that it acquires a fractional anomalous exponent connected with the fine structure constant. The result is a nonlocal object which represents a particle with a roughened trajectory whose fractal dimension can be calculated. This represents a significant shift from the traditional Wigner notions of asymptotic states with sharp well-defined masses. Non-Abelian long-range fields are more difficult to handle, but we are able to calculate the effects due to Newtonian gravitational corrections. We suggest a new approach to confinement in QCD based on a particle trajectory acquiring a fractal dimension which goes to zero in the infrared as a consequence of self-interaction, representing a particle which, in the infrared limit, cannot propagate.