Self-duality, helicity conservation and normal ordering in nonlinear QED

Abstract

We give a proof of the equivalence of the electric-magnetic duality on one side and helicity conservation of the tree level amplitudes on the other side within general models of nonlinear electrodynamics. Using modified Feynman rules derived from generalized normal ordered Lagrangian we discuss the interrelation of the above two properties of the theory also at higher loops. As an illustration we present two explicit examples, namely we find the generalized normal ordered Lagrangian for the Born-Infeld theory and derive a semi-closed expression for the Lagrangian of the Bossard-Nicolai model (in terms of the weak field expansion with explicitly known coefficients) from its normal ordered form.