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Gauge-invariant fermion

Kang-Sin Choi*

  • *Contact author: kangsin@ewha.ac.kr
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Phys. Rev. D 114, 105002 – Published 3 November, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/t173-yxq7

Abstract

We show that in quantum electrodynamics the Green’s functions of the Dirac-dressed fermion coincide, for any value of the gauge parameter in the Rξ gauge and to all orders in perturbation theory, with those of the undressed fermion in the Landau gauge. The dressed fermion couples only to the transverse photon, and the gauge parameter is confined to a decoupled sector. The dressed vertex then obeys a homogeneous Ward identity, and the dressed field is renormalized multiplicatively with no new counterterm. A partially dressed family realizes the Landau-Khalatnikov-Fradkin relation exactly, and dressings with other kernels reproduce other gauges. Every dressing yields the same pole mass, and assigning the off-shell differences between dressings to the vertex defines a common gauge-invariant mass function.

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 105002– Published 3 November, 2026
  • Received 5 May 2026
  • Accepted 9 October 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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