New criteria for self-adjointness and its application to Dirac-Maxwell Hamiltonian

Abstract

We present a new theorem concerning a sufficient condition for a symmetric operator acting in a complex Hilbert space to be essentially self-adjoint. By applying the theorem, we prove that the Dirac Maxwell Hamiltonian, which describes a quantum system of a Dirac particle and a radiation field minimally interacting with each other, is essentially self-adjoint. Our theorem covers the case where the Dirac particle is in the Coulomb type potential.