Singularity-free treatment of delta-function point scatterers in two dimensions and its conceptual implications

Abstract

In two dimensions, the standard treatment of the scattering problem for a delta-function potential, v(r) = 3 delta(r), leads to a logarithmic singularity which is subsequently removed by a renormalization of the coupling constant 3. Recently, we have developed a dynamical formulation of stationary scattering (DFSS) which offers a singularity-free treatment of this potential. We elucidate the basic mechanism responsible for the implicit regularization property of DFSS that makes it avoid the logarithmic singularity one encounters in the standard approach to this problem. We provide an alternative interpretation of this singularity showing that it arises, because the standard treatment of the problem takes into account contributions to the scattered wave whose momentum is parallel to the detectors' screen. The renormalization schemes used for removing this singularity has the effect of subtracting these unphysical contributions, while DFSS has a built-in mechanics that achieves this goal.