QED mass counterterm coefficients and the bare mass

ID: qed-mass-counterterm-coefficients-and-the-bare-mass

With renormalized Dirac fields, the coefficient of in the counterterm Lagrangian is , whereas the bare-parameter shift is at first order. In Feynman gauge and , QED has and . Their difference gives . Defining the insertion and the mass coefficient before quoting its sign avoids confusing these two counterterms.

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