Boosting equal time bound states

Abstract

We present an explicit and exact boost of a relativistic bound state defined at equal time of the constituents in the Born approximation (lowest order in hbar). To this end, we construct the Poincaré generators of QED and QCD in D=1+1 dimensions, using Gauss' law to express A^0 in terms of the fermion fields in A^1=0 gauge. We determine the fermion-antifermion bound states in the Born approximation as eigenstates of the time and space translation generators P^0 and P^1. The boost operator is combined with a gauge transformation so as to maintain the gauge condition A^1=0 in the new frame. We verify that the boosted state remains an eigenstate of P^0 and P^1 with appropriately transformed eigenvalues and determine the transformation law of the equal-time, relativistic wave function. The shape of the wave function is independent of the CM momentum when expressed in terms of a variable, which is quadratically related to the distance x between the fermions. As a consequence, the Lorentz contraction of the wave function is proportional to 1/(E-V(x)) and thus depends on x via the linear potential V(x).