Thermal Operator Representation of Finite Temperature Graphs II

Abstract

Using the mixed space representation, we extend our earlier analysis to the case of Dirac and gauge fields and show that in the absence of a chemical potential, the finite temperature Feynman diagrams can be related to the corresponding zero temperature graphs through a thermal operator. At non-zero chemical potential we show explicitly in the case of the fermion self-energy that such a factorization is violated because of the presence of a singular contact term. Such a temperature dependent term which arises only at finite density and has a quadratic mass singularity cannot be related, through a regular thermal operator, to the fermion self-energy at zero temperature which is infrared finite. Furthermore, we show that the thermal radiative corrections at finite density have a screening effect for the chemical potential leading to a finite renormalization of the potential.

13 pages, 4 figures. Revised version (minor changes) accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

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