On the Emergence of the Coulomb Forces in Quantum Electrodynamics

Abstract

A simple transformation of field variables eliminates Coulomb forces from the theory of quantum electrodynamics. This suggests that Coulomb forces may be an emergent phenomenon rather than being fundamental. This possibility is investigated in the context of reducible quantum electrodynamics. It is shown that states exist which bind free photon and free electron fields. The binding energy peaks in the long-wavelength limit. This makes it plausible that Coulomb forces result from the interaction of the electron/positron field with long-wavelength transversely polarized photons.