CHARGED SECTORS AND SCATTERING STATES IN QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS

Charge operator and charged sectors in four-dimensional QED are investigated, both within a local, covarian (indefinite metric), and within a positive metric formulation of QED. Assuming a few basic, physical principles-such as Gauss'law and a correspondence principle, etc.-we conclude that charge states determine non-Fock (coherent state) representations of the algebra generated by the asymptotic, electromagnetic field, that Lorentz boosts do not leave the harged sectors invariant (spontaneous breaking of boost symmetry), and that an unambiguous definition of the mass" of the charged infraparticles is possible. This and other results represent first steps at extending the Haag-Ruelle scattering theory to charged infraparticles. © 1979."