Recent content by jack476

  1. J

    4cos(2x) = 8sin(x)cos(x) -- Help with identities

    Divide through by four and use the double-angle formula ##\sin(2x) = 2\sin(x)\cos(x)## to turn the equation into ##\cos(2x) = \sin(2x)##, then divide through by ##\cos(2x)## and use the identity ##\sin(2x)/\cos(2x) = \tan(2x)## to get ##1 =\tan(2x)##; this is the simplified form of the...
  2. J

    A What is the meaning of "excess" Goldstone bosons?

    Excellent, thanks for the suggestions, I'll look at Weinberg and those two papers right now.
  3. J

    A What is the meaning of "excess" Goldstone bosons?

    Although strictly speaking this is motivated by a classical field theory problem, I felt that the quantum physics subforum would be more appropriate because it pertains to topics which to my understanding are almost entirely dealt with in the context of QFT. The most commonly stated form of...
  4. J

    Surfers Unaware of Shark Nearby: Drone Photo Captures the Moment

    Maybe the shark actually does know. Could it be part of their hunting instinct for species that prey on animals that swim right at the surface?
  5. J

    Computing the spectrum of a Lagrangian in field theory

    It means to identify the particles predicted by the theory and their masses.
  6. J

    Model with SU(2) gauge symmetry and SO(3) global symmetry

    I figured it out. By Noether's theorem, there is a conserved current ##j^a_{\mu}## associated with this global ##SO(3)## symmetry, and there is an energy associated with this current that is proportional to ##j^a_{\mu}A^a_{\mu}##. Let ##t^{ij}_a## be component ##i, j## of the ##a##th generator...
  7. J

    Model with SU(2) gauge symmetry and SO(3) global symmetry

    1.) The rule for the global ##SO(3)## transformation of the gauge vector field is ##A^i_{\mu} \to \omega_{ij}A^j_{\mu}## for ##\omega \in SO(3)##. The proof is by direct calculation. First, if ##A^i_{\mu} \to \omega_{ij}A^j_{\mu}## then ##F^i_{\mu \nu} \to \omega_{ij}F^j_{\mu\nu}##, so...
  8. J

    Hamiltonian Mechanics: why paths in state space never cross each other

    That's overcomplicating it just a little, although it is correct. Here's what I would say: Hamilton's equations of motion for a system define a vector field that gives a vector for every value of (q,p) in phase space. When supplied with initial conditions, Hamilton's equations can be solved for...
  9. J

    How can I break down the Navier Stokes equation? (momentum equation)

    Sorry if this comes too close to the line for self-promotion, but a few months ago I wrote a Medium article about the derivation of the Navier-Stokes equation that mostly followed the approach in Grainger's textbook: (Yes, I know that it says "part 1" in the subtitle, implying the existence...
  10. J

    Derivation of Lagrangian in the calculus of variations

    Can you think of a way to write ##L(q+\epsilon \psi)## in terms of derivatives of ##L## with respect to ##q##, given that ##\epsilon \psi## is very small?
  11. J

    Biot-Savart for finite volume currents (Wangsness)

    Okay, I think I understand now. It makes no difference whether we integrate the distribution ##\vec{J}^\prime## over ##V^\prime## or if we integrate the following current distribution over a finite region ##V^{\prime \prime}## in which ##V^\prime## is properly contained: $$ \vec{J}^{\prime...
  12. J

    Biot-Savart for finite volume currents (Wangsness)

    I don't know if I'm allowed to assume that ##V^\prime## has a very large surface.
  13. J

    Biot-Savart for finite volume currents (Wangsness)

    Wangsness uses ##V^\prime## to represent the region occupied by the field sources (charges or currents). The problem doesn't specify any particular region (sphere, cylinder, torus, etc), just an arbitrary finite region bounded by a closed surface. But either way, the current source is...
  14. J

    Biot-Savart for finite volume currents (Wangsness)

    The third identity in the list can be used to turn the expression into a surface integral. The current has to be tangent at the surface so at the surface the current be written as ##K\hat{t}_1## where ##\hat{t}_1## is a one of the two tangent vectors at the surface, and since ##d\vec{a}## is...
  15. J

    Biot-Savart for finite volume currents (Wangsness)

    Since ##\vec{R}/R^3 = -\nabla(\frac{1}{R}) = \nabla^\prime(\frac{1}{R})##, the standard form of the Biot-Savart law for volume currents can be re-written as: $$\frac{\mu_0}{4\pi}\int\limits_{V^\prime}\frac{\vec{J}^\prime (\vec{r}^\prime)\times\vec{R}}{R^3}d\tau^\prime =...
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