Editing Scale invariance (section)

===Quantum electrodynamics===
A simple example of a scale-invariant QFT is the quantized electromagnetic field without charged particles. This theory actually has no coupling parameters (since [[photon]]s are massless and non-interacting) and is therefore scale-invariant, much like the classical theory.

However, in nature the electromagnetic field is coupled to charged particles, such as [[electron]]s. The QFT describing the interactions of photons and charged particles is [[quantum electrodynamics]] (QED), and this theory is not scale-invariant. We can see this from the [[beta function (physics)#Quantum electrodynamics|QED beta-function]]. This tells us that the [[electric charge]] (which is the coupling parameter in the theory) increases with increasing energy. Therefore, while the quantized electromagnetic field without charged particles '''is''' scale-invariant, QED is '''not''' scale-invariant.