High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! In theoretical physics and quantum field theory a particle`s self-energy represents the contribution to the particle`s energy, or effective mass, due to interactions between the particle and the system it is part of. For example, in electrostatics the self-energy of a given charge distribution is the energy required to assemble the distribution by bringing in the constituent charges from infinity, where the electric force goes to zero. In a condensed matter context relevant to electrons moving in a material, the self-energy represents the potential felt by the electron due to the surrounding medium`s interactions with it: for example, the fact that electrons repel each other means that a moving electron polarizes (causes to displace) the electrons in its vicinity and this in turn changes the potential the moving electron feels; these and other effects are included in the self-energy.