In this paper we analyze a generalized Jackiw-Rebbi (J-R) model in which a massive fermion is coupled to the kink of the $lambdaphi^4$ model as a prescribed background field. We solve this massive J-R model exactly and analytically and obtain the who
le spectrum of the fermion, including the bound and continuum states. The mass term of the fermion makes the potential of the decoupled second order Schrodinger-like equations asymmetric in a way that their asymptotic values at two spatial infinities are different. Therefore, we encounter the unusual problem in which two kinds of continuum states are possible for the fermion: reflecting and scattering states. We then show the energies of all the states as a function of the parameters of the kink, i.e. its value at spatial infinity ($theta_0$) and its slope at $x=0$ ($mu$). The graph of the energies as a function of $theta_0$, where the bound state energies and the two kinds of continuum states are depicted, shows peculiar features including an energy gap in the form of a triangle where no bound states exist. That is the zero mode exists only for $theta_0$ larger than a critical value $(theta_0^{textrm{c}})$. This is in sharp contrast to the usual (massless) J-R model where the zero mode and hence the fermion number $pm1/2$ for the ground state is ever present. This also makes the origin of the zero mode very clear: It is formed from the union of the two threshold bound states at $theta_0^{textrm{c}}$, which is zero in the massless J-R model.
We investigate the vacuum polarization and the Casimir energy of a Dirac field coupled to a scalar potential in one spatial dimension. Both of these effects have a common cause which is the distortion of the spectrum due to the coupling with the back
ground field. Choosing the potential to be a symmetrical square-well, the problem becomes exactly solvable and we can find the whole spectrum of the system, analytically. We show that the total number of states and the total density remain unchanged as compared with the free case, as one expects. Furthermore, since the positive- and negative-energy eigenstates of the fermion are fermion-number conjugates of each other and there is no zero-energy bound state, the total density and the total number of negative and positive states remain unchanged, separately. Therefore, the vacuum polarization in this model is zero for any choice of the parameters of the potential. It is important to note that although the vacuum polarization is zero due to the symmetries of the model, the Casimir energy of the system is not zero in general. In the graph of the Casimir energy as a function of the depth of the well there is a maximum approximately when the bound energy levels change direction and move back towards their continuum of origin. The Casimir energy for a fixed value of the depth is a linear function of the width and is always positive. Moreover, the Casimir energy density (the energy density of all the negative-energy states) and the energy density of all the positive-energy states are exactly the mirror images of each other. Finally, computing the total energy of a valence fermion present in the lowest fermionic bound state, taking into account the Casimir energy, we find that the lowest bound state is almost always unstable for the scalar potential.
In this paper we present a complete and exact spectral analysis of the $(1+1)$-dimensional model that Jackiw and Rebbi considered to show that the half-integral fermion numbers are possible due to the presence of an isolated self charge conjugate zer
o mode. The model possesses the charge and particle conjugation symmetries. These symmetries mandate the reflection symmetry of the spectrum about the line $E=0$. We obtain the bound state energies and wave functions of the fermion in this model using two different methods, analytically and exactly, for every arbitrary choice of the parameters of the kink, i.e. its value at spatial infinity ($theta_0$) and its scale of variations ($mu$). Then, we plot the bound state energies of the fermion as a function of $theta_0$. This graph enables us to consider a process of building up the kink from the trivial vacuum. We can then determine the origin and evolution of the bound state energy levels during this process. We see that the model has a dynamical mass generation process at the first quantized level and the zero-energy fermionic mode responsible for the fractional fermion number, is always present during the construction of the kink and its origin is very peculiar, indeed. We also observe that, as expected, none of the energy levels crosses each other. Moreover, we obtain analytically the continuum scattering wave functions of the fermion and then calculate the phase shifts of these wave functions. Using the information contained in the graphs of the phase shifts and the bound states, we show that our phase shifts are consistent with the weak and strong forms of the Levinson theorem. Finally, using the weak form of the Levinson theorem, we confirm that the number of the zero-energy fermionic modes is exactly one.
We compute the quantum correction to the mass of the kink at the one-loop level in (1+1) dimensions with minimal supersymmetry. In this paper we discuss this issue from the Casimir energy perspective using phase shifts along with the mode number cut-
off regularization method. Exact solutions and in particular an exact expression for the phase shifts are already available for the bosonic sector. In this paper we derive analogous exact results for the fermionic sector. Most importantly, we derive a unique and exact expression for the fermionic phase shift, using the exact solutions for the continuum parts of the spectrum and a prescription we had introduced earlier. We use the strong and weak forms of the Levinson theorem merely for checking the consistency of our phase shifts and results, and not as an integral part of our procedure. Moreover, we find that the properties of the fermionic spectrum, including bound and continuum states, are independent of the magnitude of the Yukawa coupling constant $lambda$, and that the dynamical mass generation occurs at the tree level. These are all due to SUSY and are in sharp contrast to analogous models without SUSY, such as the Jackiw-Rebbi model, where $lambda$ is a free parameter. We use the renormalized perturbation theory and find the counterterm which is consistent with supersymmetry. We show that this procedure is sufficient to obtain the accepted value for the one-loop quantum correction to the mass of the SUSY kink which is $-frac{m}{2pi}$.
We investigate a coupled system of a Dirac particle and a pseudoscalar field in the form of a soliton in (1+1) dimensions and find some of its exact solutions numerically. We solve the coupled set of equations self-consistently and non-perturbative
ly by the use of a numerical method and obtain the bound states of the fermion and the shape of the soliton. That is the shape of the static soliton in this problem is not prescribed and is determined by the equations themselves. This work goes beyond the perturbation theory in which the back reaction of the fermion on soliton is its first order correction. We compare our results to those of an exactly solvable model in which the soliton is prescribed. We show that, as expected, the total energy of our system is lower than the prescribed one. We also compute non-perturbatively the vacuum polarization of the fermion induced by the presence of the soliton and display the results. Moreover, we compute the soliton mass as a function of the boson and fermion masses and find that the results are consistent with Skyrmes phenomenological conjecture. Finally, we show that for fixed values of the parameters, the shape of the soliton obtained from our exact solutions depends slightly on the fermionic state to which it is coupled. However, the exact shape of the soliton is always very close to the isolated kink.
We compute of the lowest order quantum radiative correction to the mass of the kink in $phi^4$ theory in 1+1 dimensions using an alternative renormalization procedure which has been introduced earlier. We use the standard mode number cutoff in conjun
ction with the above program. Our results show a small correction to the previously reported values.[The paper has been withdraw by the authors because a new version is been written to better emphasize on renormalization in problems with nontrivial background. The new version has been submitted by our new co-author (arXiv:1205.2775).]
In this paper we define a non-dynamical phase for a spin-1/2 particle in a rotating magnetic field in the non-adiabatic non-cyclic case, and this phase can be considered as a generalized Berry phase. We show that this phase reduces to the geometric B
erry phase, in the adiabatic limit, up to a factor independent of the parameters of the system. We could add an arbitrary phase to the eigenstates of the Hamiltonian due to the gauge freedom. Then, we fix this arbitrary phase by comparing our Berry phase in the adiabatic limit with the Berrys result for the same system. Also, in the extreme non-adiabatic limit our Berry phase vanishes, modulo $2pi$, as expected. Although, our Berry phase is in general complex, it becomes real in the expected cases: the adiabatic limit, the extreme non-adiabatic limit, and the points at which the state of the system returns to its initial form, up to a phase factor. Therefore, this phase can be considered as a generalization of the Berry phase. Moreover, we investigate the relation between the value of the generalized Berry phase, the period of the states and the period of the Hamiltonian.
We consider a fermion chirally coupled to a prescribed pseudoscalar field in the form of the soliton of the sine-Gordon model and calculate and investigate the Casimir energy and all of the relevant quantities for each parity channel, separately. We
present and use a simple prescription to construct the simultaneous eigenstates of the Hamiltonian and parity in the continua from the scattering states. We also use a prescription we had introduced earlier to calculate unique expressions for the phase shifts and check their consistency with both the weak and strong forms of the Levinson theorem. In the graphs of the total and parity decomposed Casimir energies as a function of the parameters of the pseudoscalar field distinctive deformations appear whenever a fermionic bound state energy level with definite parity crosses the line of zero energy. However, the latter graphs reveal some properties of the system which cannot be seen from the graph of the total Casimir energy. Finally we consider a system consisting of a valence fermion in the ground state and find that the most energetically favorable configuration is the one with a soliton of winding number one, and this conclusion does not hold for each parity, separately.
In this paper we introduce an alternative renormalization program for systems with non-perturbative conditions. The non-perturbative conditions that we concentrate on in this paper are confined to be either the presence of non-trivial boundary condit
ions or non-perturbative background fields. We show that these non-perturbative conditions have profound effects on all physical properties of the system and our renormalization program is consistent with these conditions. We formulate the general renormalization program in the configuration space. The differences between the free space renormalization program and ours manifest themselves in the counter-terms as well, which we shall elucidate. The general expressions that we obtain for the counter-terms reduce to the standard results in the free space cases. We show that the differences between these divergent counter-terms are extremely small. Moreover we argue that the position dependences induced on the parameters of the renormalized Lagrangian via the loop corrections, however small, are direct and natural consequences of the non-perturbative position dependent conditions imposed on the system.
In this paper we discuss the effects of nontrivial boundary conditions or backgrounds, including non-perturbative ones, on the renormalization program for systems in two dimensions. Here we present an alternative renormalization procedure such that t
hese non-perturbative conditions can be taken into account in a self-contained and, we believe, self-consistent manner. These conditions have profound effects on the properties of the system, in particular all of its $n$-point functions. To be concrete, we investigate these effects in the $lambda phi^4$ model in two dimensions and show that the mass counterterms turn out to be proportional to the Greens functions which have nontrivial position dependence in these cases. We then compute the difference between the mass counterterms in the presence and absence of these conditions. We find that in the case of nontrivial boundary conditions this difference is minimum between the boundaries and infinite on them. The minimum approaches zero when the boundaries go to infinity. In the case of nontrivial backgrounds, we consider the kink background and show that the difference is again small and localized around the kink.
