Some differences between Dirac's hole theory and quantum field theory

Abstract

Diracs hole theory (HT) and quantum field theory (QFT) are generally considered to be equivalent to each other. However, it has been recently shown by several researchers that this is not necessarily the case. When the change in the vacuum energy was calculated for a time independent perturbation HT and QFT yielded different results. In this paper we extend this discussion to include a time dependent perturbation for which the exact solution to the Dirac equation is known. It will be shown that for this case, also, HT and QFT yield different results. In addition, there will be some discussion of the problem of anomalies in QFT.