Color Current Induced by Gluon in Background Field Method of QCD

Abstract

By using the background field method of QCD in a path integral approach, we derive the equation of motion for the classical chromofield and for the gluon in a system containing the gluon and the classical chromofield simultaneously. This inhomogeneous field equation contains a current term, which is the expectation value of a composite operator including linear, square and cubic terms of the gluon field. We also derive identities which the current should obey from the gauge invariance. We calculate the current at the leading order where the current induced by the gluon is opposite in sign to that induced by the quark. This is just the feature of the non-Abelian gauge field theory which has asymptotic freedom. Physically, the induced current can be treated as the 'displacement' current in the polarized vacuum, and its effect is equivalent to redefining the field and the coupling constant.