Light Front Quantization--A Technique for Relativistic and Realistic Nuclear Physics

Applications of relativistic light front dynamics to computing wave functions of heavy nuclei are reviewed. The motivation for this is the desire to find wave functions, expressed in terms of the plus-momentum variable, that simplify the analyses of high energy experiments such as deep inelastic scattering, Drell-Yan production, (e,e') and (p,p').Some examples of ordinary quantum mechanics are solved to show that the formalism is tractable. Light-front quantization is reviewed briefly and applied to: infinite nuclear matter within the mean field approximation; a simple static source theory; finite nuclei using the mean field approximation; low-energy pion-nucleon scattering using a chiral Lagrangian; nucleon-nucleon scattering, within the one boson exchange approximation; and, infinite nuclear matter including the effects of two-nucleon correlations. Standard good results for nuclear saturation properties are obtained, with a possible improvement in the computed nuclear compressibility. Manifest rotational invariance is not used as an aid in doing calculations, but it does emerge in the results. It seems that nuclear physics can be done in a manner in which modern nuclear dynamics is respected, boost invariance in the $z$-direction is preserved, and in which rotational invariance is maintained. A salient feature is that $\omega,\sigma$ and $\pi$ mesons are important constituents of nuclei. It seems possible to find Lagrangians that yield reasonable descriptions of nuclear deep inelastic scattering and Drell-Yan reactions. Furthermore, the presence of the $\sigma$ and $\omega$ mesons could provide a nuclear enhancement of the ratio of the cross sections for longitudinally and transversely polarized virtual photons in accord with recent measurements by the HERMES collaboration.