A translation of the paper: On the question of avoiding the infinite "self-reaction" of the electron, by V. Ambarzumian and D. Ivanenko (1930)

TL;DR

This paper proposes replacing differential equations with difference equations in quantum electrodynamics to address the problem of infinite self-reaction of electrons, potentially resolving longstanding issues in relativistic wave equations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach using difference equations to mitigate the infinite self-reaction problem in quantum electrodynamics.

Findings

Reduction of infinite self-reaction issues

Elimination of difficulties in relativistic wave equations

Potential improvement in quantum electrodynamics formulations

Abstract

An attempt is made to avoid the difficulty of the infinite reaction of the electron on itself, which occurs in quantum electrodynamics, by introducing difference equations instead of differential equations. This vision allows the difficulty of the relativistic wave equation emphasised by Klein, for example, to be essentially eliminated.