Weyl spinor notation co/contravariant and un/dotted

In summary, the author is confused about the different spinor notations and recommends using Wess and Bagger.
  • #1
oliveriandrea
9
0
Hello,
sorry for my english..
I have a problem with weyl's spinors notation.
I'm confused, becouse i read more books (like Landau, Srednicki and Peskin) and it's seems to me that all of them use different and incompatible notations..

If i define

[itex]M=\exp\left(-\frac{1}{2}(i\theta+\beta)\sigma\right)[/itex]

as a generic lorentz transformation in left spinor rappresentation

if [itex] \psi_\alpha [/itex] represent left covariant spinor that transform with M

[itex] \psi^\alpha [/itex] represent left contravariant spinor that transform with M^(-1) right?

so how do i represent covariant and contravariant right spinor in dotted notation?
and how do they transform in connection with M matrix?

if i transform covariant left spinor with [itex]\epsilon^{\alpha\beta}[/itex] I obtain a contravariant left spinor or not?

the inner product involves dotted-dotted spinors (covariant and contravariant) or dotted-undotted spinors?

thank you :)
 
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  • #2
I would recommend using Wess and Bagger for notational purposes. It is short and conforms to the notations of many authors. Also if your looking for a free resource S. Martins "SUSY Primer" is also good for at least having the notation.

The general rules for the left transformation are:

[itex]\psi_{\alpha}[/itex] transfoms with M

[itex]\psi^{\alpha}[/itex] transforms with M^-1

For the right people usually put a bar on the spinor and the transform rules are:

[itex]\bar{\psi}_{\dot{\alpha}}[/itex] transforms with [itex] M^{*} [/itex]


[itex]\bar{\psi}^{\dot{\alpha}}[/itex] transforms with [itex] M^{* -1} [/itex]

What is important to remember is that [itex]\psi_{\alpha}[/itex] and [itex]\bar{\psi}^{\dot{\alpha}}[/itex] are what we normally think of left and right handed spinors, respectively.

Finally the epsilon symbol raises and lowers indeces and the inner product involves only like indeces. In fact, it makes no sense to have dotted-undotted since these objects live in different representations
 
  • #3
I forgot to mention that my convention conforms to Wess and Bagger and may disagree with other conventions
 
  • #4
with bar as hermitian conjugate right?
 
  • #5
No, the bar is there to tell you that it is right handed. The reason is because people prefer to remove indices from their notation. In doing so there must be a way to tell the difference between spinors without looking at whether or not there are dots on the indices.
 
  • #6
Ohh! Thank you! :smile:
I hate notation problems!
Finaly I've understood it!
 

What is Weyl spinor notation?

Weyl spinor notation is a mathematical notation used to represent spinors, which are mathematical objects that describe the intrinsic angular momentum of particles. It was developed by Hermann Weyl in the early 20th century and is often used in quantum field theory and general relativity.

What do the terms co/contravariant and un/dotted mean in Weyl spinor notation?

In Weyl spinor notation, co/contravariant refers to the way spinors transform under coordinate transformations, while un/dotted refers to the way spinors transform under Lorentz transformations. Co/contravariant spinors are represented by un/dotted spinors, and vice versa.

How are co/contravariant spinors represented in Weyl spinor notation?

Co/contravariant spinors are represented by un/dotted spinors with a bar or overline on top. For example, a co/contravariant spinor might be represented as ψ̅, while the corresponding un/dotted spinor would be ψ.

What is the significance of using co/contravariant and un/dotted notation in Weyl spinors?

The use of co/contravariant and un/dotted notation allows for a more compact and elegant representation of spinors, making calculations and transformations easier. It also helps to distinguish between different types of spinors and their transformations.

Are there any alternative notations for representing Weyl spinors?

Yes, there are alternative notations for representing Weyl spinors, such as the Dirac notation, which uses a combination of bra and ket vectors. However, Weyl spinor notation is often preferred in theoretical physics due to its simplicity and compactness.

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