- #1
ehrenfest
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Homework Statement
I tried to verify the expression for q1(t) in equation 10.52 and found that it was only true if
adjoint (a_p) = a_p and adjoint(a_{-p}) = a_{-p}. Am I missing something?
Equations (10.52) have nothing to do with [itex]a_p[/itex]. For the first of these two equations just add equation (10.39) page 173 to its adjoint. For the second one, add equation (10.41) to its adjoint.ehrenfest said:I tried to verify the expression for q1(t) in equation 10.52 and found that it was only true if
adjoint (a_p) = a_p and adjoint(a_{-p}) = a_{-p}. Am I missing something?
jimmysnyder said:Now I see what you mean. You are treating the first term on the r.h.s of the first of equations (10.49) as if it were the operator [itex]q_1(t)[/itex]. but it is not.
Sorry, that was an assumption on my part. Can you show us what you did?ehrenfest said:No. I am treating the real part of the expression for a(t) in 10.49 as if it were the operator for [itex]q_1(t)[/itex]. I rewrote everything in terms of sines and cosines and found the real part.
It doesn't look too good. The l.h.s. is hermitian, but the r.h.s. isn't. How did you derive it?ehrenfest said:I'll show it step by step.
Do you agree that
[tex]q_1(t) = cos(E_p t)a_{p} + cos(E_p t) a_{-p}^{\dag}[/tex]
?
I see now. What is the real part of [itex]ie^{-iE_pt}[/itex]?ehrenfest said:It is just the real part of a(t) from equation 10.49 . Just use Euler's formula.
ehrenfest said:It is just the real part of a(t) from equation 10.49 . Just use Euler's formula.
No, I meant it as I wrote it. This is a trivial multiplication after using the Euler formula. Get this right and nrqed's post will be clear to you.ehrenfest said:Do you mean "what is the real part of [itex]e^{-iE_pt}[/itex]?"
Then it would be cos(E_p t).
Yes, that's what I did.nrqed said:I guess by "real part" you mean that you dropped all the terms with a factor of i?
nrqed said:I
You can't do that because "a" itself (and a^dagger) must be viewed as an imaginary quantity! Y
ehrenfest said:Yes, that's what I did.
I am kind of confused about why you wrote "imaginary" and not "complex" and why jimmmysnyder replaced the a_p with an i.
The fact that the operators are not "real" has nothing to do with the partilces they create or annihilate.Moreover, why shouldn't the creation and annhilation operators both be real since you cannot create an imaginary particle or destroy a particle and get an imaginary result? Maybe I just don't understand creation and annhilation operators.
I'm sorry for the confusion and I promise to clear it up as soon as you tell me the answer.ehrenfest said:I am kind of confused about why ... jimmmysnyder replaced the a_p with an i.
Reread the paragraph below equation (10.44) on page 173.ehrenfest said:Moreover, why shouldn't the creation and annhilation operators both be real since you cannot create an imaginary particle or destroy a particle and get an imaginary result? Maybe I just don't understand creation and annhilation operators.
ehrenfest said:OK. So in conclusion you cannot find the real part of an expression with non-Hermitian operators just by taking out the factors of i.
Pages 174-175 in Zwiebach's book, "A First Course in String Theory," discuss the concept of open strings and their boundary conditions. This is an important topic in string theory as it helps explain how particles interact with each other.
The "Dirichlet" boundary condition refers to the constraint that the endpoints of an open string must be fixed in space. This means that the string cannot move freely in all directions, but rather it is restricted to a specific location in space.
The "Neumann" boundary condition also involves fixed endpoints for an open string, but in this case, the string is allowed to move freely in all directions at the endpoints. This condition is often used to describe the behavior of closed strings.
D-branes are objects that can be described as surfaces where open strings can end. They play a crucial role in string theory as they allow for the incorporation of gravity into the theory and help explain the behavior of particles at high energies.
While the concepts discussed on pages 174-175 are primarily used in string theory and theoretical physics, they have also found applications in other fields such as condensed matter physics and cosmology. The understanding of open string boundary conditions has helped researchers gain insights into the behavior of various physical systems.