Physical Review B
Ward identity for nonequilibrium Fermi systems
Bedřich Velicky´, Anděla Kalvová, Václav Špička
Abstract
A nonequilibrium Ward identity (NE WI) connecting the scalar transport vertex correction with one-particle self-energy is derived using the global $\mathrm{U}(1)$ symmetry of the fermion nonequilibrium Green's functions (NGF). The nonperturbative derivation does not depend on the details of the many-body system. A renormalized multiplicative composition rule for the NGF, reflecting time coherence, is obtained and related to the NE WI. Applications involve (i) testing the consistency of approximations shown in the example of a self-consistent Born approximation for disorder scattering, and (ii) in the general quantum transport theory, the formalism permits one to assess routes to generalized master equations, in particular those based on the generalized Kadanoff-Baym ansatz.