Relating the solutions of the Dirac equation with a background electric potential to solutions with a background pseudoscalar potential

Abstract

We compare two different solutions of the Dirac equation in (1+1) dimensions. One solution is for a fermion in the presence of an electric potential and the other is for a fermion in the presence of a pseudoscalar potential. It is shown that for properly defined potentials one can easily relate the solutions of one system to the solutions of the other. In effect, solving one problem gives the solution to both. In addition, the vacuum charge density is calculated in the both cases and it is shown how this result is impacted by the presence of anomalies in quantum field theory.