Abstract
The interaction of the quantized electromagnetic field with charged particles is discussed from the point of view of hole theory and of electron-positron theory. The analogy of the energy-band structure of the vacuum and a semiconductor is pointed out. The interaction is seen to lead to scattering and to pair creation and annihilation, but it also gives rise to self-interactions that can be described as a change in the mass and in the magnetic moment of the electron. The fact that the mass change is infinite comprises one of the fundamental inconsistencies of the theory. Finally, the occurrence of nonlinearities in the field equation results in the prediction of the scattering of light by light.
© 1953 Optical Society of America
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