CANONICAL QUANTIZATION OF PHOTONS IN A RINDLER WEDGE

Photons and thermal photons are studied in the Rindler wedge employing Feynman's gauge and canonical quantization. A Gupta-Bleuler-like form alism is explicitly implemented. Nonthermal Wightman functions and rel ated (Euclidean and Lorentzian) Green functions are explicitly calcula ted and their complex time analytic structure is carefully analyzed us ing the Fulling-Ruijsenaars master function. The invariance of the adv anced minus retarded fundamental solution is checked and a Ward identi ty discussed. It is suggested that the KMS condition can be implemente d to define thermal states also dealing with unphysical photons. Follo wing this way, thermal Wightman functions and related (Euclidean and L orentzian) Green functions are built up. Their analytic structure is c arefully examined employing a thermal master function as in the nonthe rmal case and other corresponding properties are discussed. Some subtl eties arising dealing with unphysical photons in the presence of the R indler conical singularity are pointed out. In particular, a one-param eter family of thermal Wightman and Schwinger functions with the same physical content is proved to exist due to a remaining (nontrivial) st atic gauge ambiguity. A photon version of the Bisognano-Wichmann theor em is investigated in the case of photons propagating in the Rindler W edge employing Wightman functions. In spite of the found ambiguity in defining Rindler Green functions, the coincidence of (beta=2 pi)-Rindl er Wightman functions and Minkowski Wightman functions is proved deali ng with test functions related to physical photons and Lorentz photons . (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.