Quantum Electrodynamics: Atoms, Lasers And Gravity

The book aims to introduce readers to a variety of topics surrounding quantum field theory, bound states, laser physics, and the gravitational coupling of Dirac particles. Topics include bound-state wave functions and propagators, both non-relativistic as well as relativistic, Bethe logarithms, Casimir-Polder interactions both between atoms as well as between atoms and dielectric materials, angular coupling coefficients necessary to describe many-electron atoms, the gravitational coupling of Dirac particles and antiparticles in curved space, and an introduction to the Bethe-Salpeter equation and effective bound-state field theory (including nonrelativistic quantum electrodynamics, NRQED). The book finds its conclusions in a discussion of the renormalization group and its applications to bound-state theory and fermion g factors.