We study the Euclidean Green's functions of the 't Hooft vortex operator, primarily for Abelian gauge theories. The operator is written in terms of elementary fields, with emphasis on a form in which it appears as the exponential of a surface integral, We explore the requirement that the Green's functions depend only on the boundary of this surface, The Dirac veto problem appears in a new guise, We present a two dimensional ''solvable model" of a Dirac string, which suggests a new solution of the veto problem. The renormalization of the Green's functions of the Abelian Wilson loop and Abelian vortex operator is studied with the aid of the operator product expansion. In each case. an overall multiplication of the operator makes all Green's functions finite; a surprising cancellation of divergences occurs with the vortex operator. We present a brief discussion of the relation between the nature of the vacuum and the cluster properties of the Green's functions of the Wilson and vortex operators. for a general gauge theory. The surface-like cluster property of the vortex operator in an Abelian Higgs theory is explored in more detail.

In this paper, we study the euclidean Green functions of the 't Hooft vortex operator, primarily for abelian gauge theories. The operator is written in terms of elementary fields, with emphasis on a form in which it appears as the exponential of a surface integral. We explore the requirement that the Green functions depend only on the boundary of this surface. The Dirac veto problem appears in a new guise. We present a two-dimensional ?solvable model? of a Dirac string, which suggests a new solution of the veto problem. The renormalization of the Green functions of the abelian Wilson loop and abelian vortex operator is studied with the aid of the operator product expansion. In each case, an overall multiplication of the operator makes all Green functions finite; a surprising cancellation of divergences occurs with the vortex operator. We present a brief discussion of the relation between the nature of the vacuum and the cluster properties of the Green functions of the Wilson and vortex operators, for a general gauge theory. Finally, the surface-like cluster property of the vortex operator in an abelian Higgs theory is explored in more detail.

Several related aspects of the 't Hooft vortex operator are studied. The current picture of the vacuum of quantum chromodynamics, the idea of dual field theories, and the idea of the vortex operator are reviewed first. The Abelian vortex operator written in terms of elementary fields and the calculation of its Green's functions are considered. A two-dimensional solvable model of a Dirac string is presented. The expression of the Green's functions more neatly in terms of Wu and Yang's geometrical idea of sections is addressed. The renormalization of the Green's functions of two kinds of Abelian looplike operators, the Wilson loop and the vortex operator, is studied; for both operators only an overall multiplicative renormalization is needed. In the case of the vortex this involves a surprising cancellation. Next, the dependence of the Green's functions of the Wilson and 't Hooft operators on the nature of the vacuum is discussed. The cluster properties of the Green's functions are emphasized. It is seen that the vortex operator in a massive Abelian theory always has surface-like clustering. The form of Green's functions in terms of Feynman graphs is the same in Higgs and symmetric phases; the difference appears in the sum over all tadpole trees. Finally, systems having fields in the fundamental representation are considered. When these fields enter only weakly into the dynamics, a vortex-like operator is anticipated. Any such operator can no longer be local looplike, but must have commutators at long range. A U(1) lattice gauge theory with two matter fields, one singly charged (fundamental) and one doubly charged (adjoint), is examined. When the fundamental field is weakly coupled, the expected phase transitions are found. When it is strongly coupled, the operator still appears to be a good order parameter, a discontinuous change in its behavior leads to a new phase transition. 18 figures.

In addition to coverage of Green's function, this concise introductory treatment examines boundary value problems, generalized functions, eigenfunction expansions, partial differential equations, and acoustics. Suitable for undergraduate and graduate students. 1971 edition.

The Green's functions are calculated for the Rytov equation that governs the propagation of plane monochromatic waves in a random medium. The diverging as well as the converging wave solutions of the Green's functions are obtained for the two situations in which the Laplacian operator in the equation is either fully three-dimensional or only two-dimensional in the variables that describe the plane normal to the direction of wave propagation. The solutions found by Chernov and by Tatarski are compared with solutions that can be given in terms of the Green's functions thus obtained. (Author).

This book presents a functional approach to the construction, use and approximation of Green's functions and their associated ordered exponentials. After a brief historical introduction, the author discusses new solutions to problems involving particle production in crossed laser fields and non-constant electric fields. Applications to problems in potential theory and quantum field theory are covered, along with approximations for the treatment of color fluctuations in high-energy QCD scattering, and a model for summing classes of eikonal graphs in high-energy scattering problems. The book also presents a variant of the Fradkin representation which suggests a new non-perturbative approximation scheme, and provides a qualitative measure of the error involved in each such approximation. Covering the basics as well as more advanced applications, this book is suitable for graduate students and researchers in a wide range of fields, including quantum field theory, fluid dynamics and applied mathematics.