Mathematical Melody in Quantum Anomaly via the Path Integral Approach: A Lesson from the Transverse Current Anomalies in QED

Abstract

I address and solve the natural problem of calculating the transverse current anomalies in quantum electrodynamics by means of the path-integral method. An explicitly divergent and regulator-dependent anomaly term is produced for the vector current, in apparent contradiction with the null-result prediction of the one-loop perturbative evaluation. This paradox is carefully explained using the concept of infinite-dimensional Grassmann functional integration, signifying a modification to the conventional wisdom of understanding anomalies in field theory.