Does an Electron Interact with Itself?

Here is a conversation with ChatGPT seeking to find out if an electron in an atom/molecule interacts with itself: ChatGPT

We are informed that standard Quantum Mechanics QM does not involve self-interaction of an electron, since QM is based on Coulomb interaction between different point charges/particles. 

We are also told that Quantum Field Theory as a refined version of QM does involve self-interaction between particle and field generated by particle. But the self-interaction in QFT creates infinities, which have to be controled by "renormalisation" effectively removing self-interaction.  

ChatGPT delivers the following synthesis by reading the literature:  

• QM does not include electron self-interaction.
• QFT does include electron self-interaction the effect of which however is removed by "renormalisation".  
• Reduced versions of QM like Hartree-Fock and DFT require removal of self-interaction to give results in agreement with observations.  

It seems that we are left in limbo without answer to our question. We can add that RealQM like QM without reduction does not include self-interaction. 

An example from classical physics of self-interaction is resonance within a mechanical system with different parts (mass + spring) viewed as a whole, which illustrates the lingering infinity of the breakdown of a system in self-interaction. See also this post. Resonance in system does not have to be catastrophical since it can be controlled by the environment but self-interaction within a part of the system can be.   

A model of a stable atom/molecule like QM and RealQM without electron self-interaction agrees with observation of stability without blow-up. 

Including electron self-interaction as in QFT is hazardous and requires delicate "renormalisation" to avoid blow up. 

ChatGPT claims that electron self-interaction must be part of the following physics:

• Lamb Shift: Requires the electron's interaction with its own electromagnetic field.
• Anomalous Magnetic Moment: Requires virtual particles to modify the electron's behavior.
• Vacuum Polarization: Requires the quantum vacuum's response to the electron's field.

But is that the only possible explanation of such observations?

What do you think? Electron self-interaction or not? Did ChatGPT capture state-of-the-art?

More posts on self-interaction. Check Atom Simulator.