Computational approach for calculating bound states in quantum field theory

We propose a nonperturbative approach to calculate bound-state energies and wave functions for quantum field theoretical models. It is based on the direct diagonalization of the corresponding quantum field theoretical Hamiltonian in an effectively discretized and truncated Hilbert space. We illustrate this approach for a Yukawa-like interaction between fermions and bosons in one spatial dimension and show where it agrees with the traditional method based on the potential picture and where it deviates due to recoil and radiative corrections. This method permits us also to obtain some insight into the spatial characteristics of the distribution of the fermions in the ground state, such as the bremsstrahlung-induced widening.