I Virtual Photons: The Long-Distance Repulsion of Electrons

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My understanding is that the repulsion between two electrons is mediated by the exchange of virtual photons – virtual meaning not lasting long enough to be detected. But suppose one of the electrons is in the sun and the other on Earth. There should still be a repulsion because the electromagnetic interaction has infinite range. Do the virtual photons last 8 minutes? If a photographic plate is placed between the two electrons, will the virtual photons be absorbed and recorded? Or, will they still reach the other electron to complete the exchange?
 
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Thread 'Lesser Green's function'
The lesser Green's function is defined as: $$G^{<}(t,t')=i\langle C_{\nu}^{\dagger}(t')C_{\nu}(t)\rangle=i\bra{n}C_{\nu}^{\dagger}(t')C_{\nu}(t)\ket{n}$$ where ##\ket{n}## is the many particle ground state. $$G^{<}(t,t')=i\bra{n}e^{iHt'}C_{\nu}^{\dagger}(0)e^{-iHt'}e^{iHt}C_{\nu}(0)e^{-iHt}\ket{n}$$ First consider the case t <t' Define, $$\ket{\alpha}=e^{-iH(t'-t)}C_{\nu}(0)e^{-iHt}\ket{n}$$ $$\ket{\beta}=C_{\nu}(0)e^{-iHt'}\ket{n}$$ $$G^{<}(t,t')=i\bra{\beta}\ket{\alpha}$$ ##\ket{\alpha}##...

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