Abstract

We study the radiative corrections of QED3 from the dual point of view and show that this process is the exact dual to the Julia-Toulouse mechanism introduced by Quevedo and Trugenberger [F. Quevedo, C.A. Trugenberger, Nucl. Phys. B 501 (1997) 143] some years ago. We discuss the physics behind this mechanism that involves condensation of topological defects. It is shown that the dual Stuckelberg mechanism is responsible for the "rank-jump" phenomenon that transforms the scalar field (dual to Maxwell in this dimensionality) into the vectorial self-dual field. This phenomenon is studied using the ideas of noncommutative fields theory that examines possible deformations of the canonical structure of some well-known models in (2 + 1) D. A deformation is constructed linking the massless scalar field theory with the self-dual theory. This is the exact dual of the known deformation connecting the Maxwell theory with the Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory. Duality, radiative corrections, the Julia-Toulouse mechanism and canonical deformations are then used to establish a web of relations between the mentioned theories and to propose a physical picture of the deformation procedure adopted. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.