The duality of four-dimensional electrodynamics and the theory of a two-dimensional massless scalar field leads to a functional coincidence of the spectra of the mean number of photons emitted by a point-like electric charge in 3+1 dimensions and the spectra of the mean number of scalar quanta pairs emitted by a point mirror in 1+1 dimensions. The spectra differ only by the factor $e^2/\hbar c$ (in Heaviside units). The requirement that the spectra be identical determines unique values of the point-like charge $e_0=\pm \sqrt {\hbar c}$ and its fine structure constant $\alpha _0=1/4\pi$, which have all the properties required by Gell-Mann and Low for a finite bare charge. The Dyson renormalization constant $Z_3\equiv \alpha /\alpha _0= 4\pi\alpha$ is finite and lies in the range $0 < Z_3 < 1$, in agreement with the Källén—Lehmann spectral representation sum rule for the exact Green's function of the photon. The value of $Z_3$ also lies in a very narrow interval $\alpha _{\rm L} < Z_3 \equiv \alpha /\alpha _0 = 4\pi \alpha < \alpha _{\rm B}$ between the values $\alpha _{\rm L} = 0.0916$ and $\alpha _{\rm B} = 0.0923$ of the parameters defining the shifts $E_{\rm L, \,B} = \alpha _{\rm L, \,B}\hbar c/2r$ of the energy of zero-point fluctuations of the electromagnetic field in cubic and spherical resonators with the cube edge length equal to the sphere diameter, $L = 2r$. In this case, the cube is circumscribed about the sphere. That the difference between the coefficients $\alpha _{\rm L,\, B}$ is very small can be explained by the general property of all polyhedra circumscribed about a sphere: despite the difference between their shapes, they share a topological invariant, the surface-to-volume ratio $S/V = 3/r$, the same as for the sphere itself. Shifts of the energy of zero-point oscillations in such resonators are also proportional to this invariant: $E_{\rm L, \,B} = \alpha _{\rm L, \,B} \hbar c S/6V$. On the other hand, the shifts $E_{\rm L, \,B} = \alpha _{\rm L, \,B}\hbar c/2r$ of the energy of zero-point oscillations of the electromagnetic field essentially coincide with the energy of the mean squared fluctuations of the volume-averaged electric and magnetic fields in resonators, equal to $Z_3\hbar c/2r$ in order of magnitude. It hence follows that $\alpha _{\rm L, \,B}\approx Z_3$, as it should for the coefficients $\alpha _\gamma$ of the shifts $\alpha _\gamma $ of the shifts $E_\gamma = \alpha _\gamma \hbar c/2r$ in other resonators $\gamma$ circumscribed about a sphere. The closeness of $\alpha _{\rm L}$ and $\alpha _{\rm B}$ to the $Z_3$ factor is confirmed by the Källén—Lehmann spectral representation and agrees with asymptotic conditions relating the photon creation amplitudes for free and interacting vector fields.

Keywords: nonperturbative methods, physical charge, bare charge, renorminvariant charge, duality of 4-dimensional and 2-dimensional field theories, spectral representation of Green's functions, sum rule, zero-point fluctuations of a field in a vacuum, cavity resonator, topological invariant, conformal invariance PACS: 02.40.−k, 03.70.+k, 05.40.−a, 11.10.Hi, 11.10.Jj, 11.55.Hx, 12.20.−m, 41.60.−m (all) DOI: 10.3367/UFNe.2022.02.039167 URL: https://ufn.ru/en/articles/2022/5/d/ 001112520100004 2-s2.0-85152541242 2022PhyU...65..468R Citation: Ritus V I "Finite value of the bare charge and the relation of the fine structure constant ratio for physical and bare charges to zero-point oscillations of the electromagnetic field in a vacuum" Phys. Usp. 65 468–486 (2022) BibTexBibNote ® (generic)BibNote ® (RIS)MedlineRefWorks Received: 9th, June 2021, revised: 25th, October 2021, accepted: 27th, February 2022 Оригинал: Ритус В И «Конечное значение затравочного заряда и связь отношения постоянных тонкой структуры физического и затравочного зарядов с нулевыми колебаниями электромагнитного поля в вакууме» УФН 192 507–526 (2022); DOI: 10.3367/UFNr.2022.02.039167