Self-consistent approximation to the solution of the Bethe-Salpeter equation.

Abstract

A technique for the approximate solution of the Bethe-Salpeter equation is examined. The technique requires the solution of a pair of coupled equations for the relative-momentum and relative-energy dependence of the relativistic T matrix. The solutions obey a self-consistency requirement as well as the usual elastic-unitarity constraint. It is also shown that the approximate T matrix is stable under a single iteration in the exact four-dimensional equation at certain kinematic points, including the fully on-shell point. A model problem with an exactly solvable separable interaction is examined and exact, approximate, as well as three-dimensional reduction results are compared. The phase shifts calculated in this self-consistent approximation scheme are found to be in excellent agreement with the exact phase shifts.