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We consider a reformulation of quantum electrodynamics in which covariant Green functions are used to solve for the electromagnetic field in terms of the fermion fields. The resulting modified Hamiltonian contains the photon propagator directly. A simple Fock-state variational trial function is used to derive relativistic two-fermion equations variationally from the expectation value of the Hamiltonian of the field theory. The interaction kernel of the equation is shown to be, in essence, the invariant M matrix in lowest order. Solutions of the two-body equations are presented for muoniumlike systems for small coupling strengths. The results compare well with the observed muonium spectrum, as well as that for hydrogen and muonic hydrogen. Anomalous magnetic moment effects are discussed.

We consider particle-antiparticle bound states in the scalar Yukawa (Wick-Cutkosky) model. The variational method in the Hamiltonian formalism of quantum field theory is employed. A reformulation of the model is studied, in which covariant Green functions are used to solve for the mediating field in terms of the particle fields. A simple Fock-state variational ansatz is used to derive a relativistic equation for the particle-antiparticle states. This equation contains one-quantum-exchange and virtual-annihilation interactions. It is shown that analytic solutions of this equation can be obtained for the simplified case where only the virtual-annihilation interaction is retained. More generally, numerical and perturbative solutions of the equation are obtained for the massive and massless exchange cases. We compare our results with various Bethe-Salpeter-based calculations.

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