Effective field theories for QED bound states: Extending nonrelativistic QED to study retardation effects

Nonrelativistic QED bound states are difficult to study because of the presence of at least three widely different scales: the masses, three-momenta (p(i)) and kinetic energies (K-i) of the constituents. Nonrelativistic QED (NRQED), an effective field theory developed by Caswell and Lepage, simplifies greatly bound state calculations by eliminating the masses as dynamical scales. As we demonstrate, NRQED diagrams involving only photons of energy E-gamma similar or equal to p(i) contribute, in any calculation, to a unique order in alpha. This is not the case, however, for diagrams involving photons with energies E-gamma similar or equal to K-i ("retardation effects"), for which no simple counting counting rules can be given. We present an extension of NRQED in which the contribution of those ultra-soft photons can be isolated order by order in alpha. This is effectively accomplished by performing a multipole expansion of the NRQED vertices. [S0556-2821(98)01121-7].