Many-body-QED perturbation theory: Connection to the two-electron Bethe-Salpeter equation

The connection between many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) and quantum electrodynamics (QED) is reviewed for systems of two fermions in an external field. The treatment is mainly based on the recently developed covariant-evolution-operator method for QED calculations (I. Lindgren, S. Salomonson, and B. Åsén. Phys. Rep. 389, 161 (2004)), which is quite similar in structure to MBPT. At the same time, this procedure is closely related to the S-matrix and Green's-function formalisms and can therefore serve as a bridge connecting various approaches. It is demonstrated that the MBPT–QED scheme, when carried to all orders, leads to a Schrödinger-like equation, equivalent to the Bethe–Salpeter (BS) equation. A Bloch equation in commutator form that can be used for an "extended" or quasi-degenerate model space is derived. This is a multi-state equation that has the same relation to the single-state BS equation as the standard Bloch equation has to the ordinary Schrödinger equation. It can be used to generate a perturbation expansion compatible with the BS equation even in the case of a quasi-degenerate mode