The renormalized Nelson model in the weak coupling limit

Abstract The Nelson model describes non-relativistic particles coupled to a relativistic Bose scalar field. In this article, we study the renormalized version of the Nelson model with massless bosons in Davies’ weak coupling limit. Our main result states that the two-body Coulomb potential emerges as an effective pair interaction between the particles, which arises from the exchange of virtual excitations of the quantum field.