Abstract
An improvement of the estimate by Drell and Pagels of the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron is given. Use is made of a sidewise dispersion relation in which the mass of one of the external electron lines is analytically continued off its mass shell. Only one-electron, one-photon states are retained in the absorptive amplitude, but this is sufficient to obtain all terms in the absorptive part of the anomalous moment proportional to () and as . This calculation relates to the Compton amplitude in its exact threshold region. An expansion is made in powers of the photon energy in the Compton amplitude rather than a perturbation calculation in powers of . The Schwinger term is reproduced exactly. A cutoff is chosen so that the fourth-order term is approximately reproduced. This cutoff leads to an estimate of the sixth-order term of .
- Received 26 October 1967
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.168.1562
©1968 American Physical Society