Lagrangian density Definition and 54 Threads

This was inspired by this:Dropping an extended Slinky -- Why does the bottom of the Slinky not fall?. There is that famous demonstration of dropping a slinky, and the bottom of the slinky does not move until the center of mass reaches the bottom. I was trying to figure out how hard are the...

I want to compute the equations of motion for this theory in terms of the functions ##f## and ##a##. My plan was to apply the Euler-Lagrange equations, but it got confusing very quickly. Am I right that we'll have 3 sets of equations? One for each of the fields ##\phi,\phi^\dagger, A_\mu## ...

hi, i have seen lagrangian density for spin 0 , spin 1/2, spin 1 , but i am not getting from where these langrangian densities comes in at a first place. kindly give me the hint. thanks

Hi, I am reading Robert D Klauber's book "Student Friendly Quantum Field Theory" volume 1 "Basic...". On page 48, bottom line, there is a formula for the classical Lagrangian density for a free (no forces), real, scalar, relativistic field, see the attached file. I like to understand formulas...

On ***page 38*** of Becker Becker Schwarz, we're given ***equation 2.69*** which is the Hamiltonian for a string given as $$H=\frac{T}{2}\int_{0}^{\pi}(\dot{X}^{2}+X^{'2})$$ Considering the open string we have...

In Sydney Coleman Lectures on Quantum field Theory (p48), he finds : $$D\mathcal{L} = e^{\mu} \partial _{\mu} \mathcal{L}$$ My calulation, with ##\phi## my field and the variation of the field under space time tranlation ##D\phi = e^{\mu} \frac{\partial \phi}{\partial x^{\mu}}## ...

this figure form ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effective_mass_(spring%E2%80%93mass_system) ) massive spring ; m K.E. of total spring equal to ## K.E. = \frac{1}{2} \sum dm_i v_i^2 = \frac{1}{2} \sum \rho dy (Vy/L)^2## V is the speed at the end of the spring and V are same speed of mass M...

a) Alright here we have to use Euler-Lagrange equation $$\partial_{\alpha} \Big( \frac{\partial \mathcal{L}}{\partial(\partial_{\mu} A_{\nu})} \Big) - \frac{\partial \mathcal{L}}{\partial A_{\nu}} = 0$$ Let's focus on the term ##\frac{\partial \mathcal{L}}{\partial (\partial_{\alpha}...

Hi, I don't know much about the standard model but I'm asking out of interest. Why do we actually need a Lagrangian for the standard model? Surely when you apply the relevant Euler-Lagrange equations, you end up with a variety of equations like the Maxwell equations or Dirac equations. Why...

From the action ∫Ldt =∫ι√|g|d4x where |g| is the determinant of the metric .and ι the lagrangian density. For gravitational field why is this ι is replaced by the Ricci scaler R which yield field equations in vaccum.(Rij-1/2Rgij)=0 Is it that the lagrangian density corresponding to vacuum is the...

Homework Statement I want to be able, for an arbitrary Lagrangian density of some field, to derive the energy-momentum tensor using Noether's theorem for translational symmetry. I want to apply this to a specific instance but I am unsure of the approach. Homework Equations for a field...

So the first term of the Lagrangian is proportional to ##{F_{\mu \nu}}{F^{\mu \nu}}##. I wrote out the matrices for ##{F_{\mu \nu}}## and ##{F^{\mu \nu}}## and multiplied at the terms together and added them up, but some of the terms didn't cancel like they should have. Should I have used minus...

The problem: $$\mathcal{L} = F^{\mu \nu} F_{\mu \nu} + m^2 /2 \ A_{\mu} A^{\mu} $$ with: $$ F_{\mu \nu} = \partial_{\nu}A_{\mu} - \partial_{\mu}A_{\nu} $$ 1. Show that this lagrangian density is not gauge invariance 2.Derive the equations of motion, why is the Lorentzcondition still...

Homework Statement from the lagrangian density of the form : $$L= -\frac{1}{2} (\partial_m b^m)^2 - \frac{M^2}{2}b^m b_m$$ derive the equation of motion. Then show that the field $$F=\partial_m b^m $$ justify the Klein_Gordon eq.of motion. Homework Equations bm is real. The Attempt at a...

Homework Statement Hello, I am trying to find the equations of motion that come from the fermi lagrangian density of the covariant formalism of Electeomagnetism.Homework Equations The form of the L. density is: $$L=-\frac{1}{2} (\partial_n A_m)(\partial^n A^m) - \frac{1}{c} J_m A^m$$ where J...

Can Lagrangian densities be constructed from the physics and then derive equations of motion from them? As it seems now, from my reading and a course I took, that the equations of motion are known (i.e. the Klein-Gordon and Dirac Equation) and then from them the Lagrangian density can be...

I'm trying to derive the Klein Gordon equation from the Lagrangian: $$ \mathcal{L} = \frac{1}{2}(\partial_{\mu} \phi)^2 - \frac{1}{2}m^2 \phi^2$$ $$\partial_{\mu}\Bigg(\frac{\partial \mathcal{L}}{\partial (\partial_{\mu} \phi)}\Bigg) = \partial_{t}\Bigg(\frac{\partial \mathcal{L}}{\partial...

How does one write a Lagrangian of a coherent state of vector fields (of differing energy levels) in terms of the the individual Lagrangians? I desperately need to know how to know to do this, for a theory of mine to make any progress. Please stick with me, if I didn't make sense just ask...

Hi, in gravitational theory the action integral is: I = ∫( − g ( x))^1/2 L ( x) d 4 x, but I do not know why there is a square root -g . Could you give me the proof of this integral? I mean How is this integral constructed? What is the logic of this? Thanks in advance...

In quantum field theory (QFT) from what I've read locality is the condition that the Lagrangian density ##\mathscr{L}## is a functional of a field (or fields) and a finite number of its (their) spatial and temporal derivatives evaluated at a single spacetime point ##x^{\mu}=(t,\mathbf{x})##...

My question is why there is -1/2 for ω meson?

i have a mathematical question which is quite similar to one asked before, still a bit different https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/derivative-of-first-term-in-lagrangian-density-for-real-k-g-theory.781472/the first term of KG-Lagrangian is: \frac{1}{2}(\partial^{\mu} \phi)(\partial_{\mu}...

I have been reading these notes: http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic455971.files/l10.pdf in which they claim that if two spacetime events are coincident in one frame of reference then they are coincident in all inertial frames of reference, thus spacetime events are absolute i.e. they...

I am slightly unsure as to whether I have understood the notion of locality correctly. As far as I understand it locality is the statement that if two events occur simultaneously (i.e. at the same time) then no information can be shared between them (they are causally disconnected). Thus a...

Homework Statement I have to expand the following term: $$\dfrac{1}{4} F_{\mu\nu}F^{\mu\nu} = \dfrac{1}{4} \left(\partial_{\mu}A_{\nu} - \partial_{\nu}A_{\mu}\right) \left(\partial^{\mu}A^{\nu} - \partial^{\nu}A^{\mu}\right)$$ to get in the end this form...

I've been working through a qft book by Sadovskii (while I wait for my Peskin book to come in) and I've used some later chapters of Griffith's Into to Elementary Particles as an introduction to some qft. My issue with both of these is that, where in classical mechanics we have the Lagrangian...

Hi I began to study the basics of QED. Now I am studying Lagrangian and Hamiltonian densities of Dirac Equation. I'll call them L density and H density for convenience :)Anyway, the derivation of the H density from L density using Legendre transformation confuses me :( I thought because...

Homework Statement Given the Lagrangian density \Lambda = -\frac{1}{c}j^lA_l - \frac{1}{16 \pi} F^{lm}F_{lm} and the Euler-Lagrange equation for it \frac{\partial }{\partial x^k}\left ( \frac{\partial \Lambda}{\partial A_{i,k}} \right )- \frac{\partial \Lambda}{\partial A_{i}} =0...

Hi, I am trying to figure out how to draw all the three level Feynman diagrams corresponding to this lagrangian density L = \frac{1}{2} \partial _{\mu} \phi \partial^{\mu} \phi - \frac{\mu^2}{2}\phi^2- \frac{\eta}{3!}\phi^3-\frac{\lambda}{4!} \phi^4+i \bar{\psi} \gamma _{\mu} \partial^{\mu}...

Hey guys, This is really confusing me cos its allowing me to create factors of 2 from nowhere! Basically, the first term in the Lagrangian for a real Klein-Gordon theory is \frac{1}{2}(\partial_{\mu}\phi)(\partial^{\mu}\phi). Now let's say I wana differentiate this by applying the...

Greetings, I have two semi-related questions. 1. When making the Lagrangian formalism of electrodynamics, why is it that we use the Lagrangian density \mathcal{L}, rather than the plain old regular Lagrangian L? Is this something that is necessary, or is it more that it is just very...

Homework Statement I try to calculate the energy tensor, but i can't do it like the article, and i don't know, i have a photo but it don't look very good, sorry for my english, i have a problem with a sign in the result Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution In the photos...

Hi, This is a worked example in the text I'm independently studying. I hope this isn't too much to ask, but I am stupidly having trouble understanding how one step leads to the other, so was hoping someone could give me a little more of an in-depth idea of the derivation. Thanks. Homework...

Now this is a bit of a mix of a math and a physics question, but I think it is best asked here. Assume we are given a Lorentzian manifold ##(Q, g)## together with a metric connection ##\nabla##. Naturally we define geodesics ##\gamma## via $$\nabla_{\dot \gamma} \dot \gamma = 0 \quad ,$$...

Hi, This is probably a trivial question, but I just wanted to check my understanding. Is the following expression for the Dirac Lagrangian correct...

Hi everyone! I've been thinking about a certain problem for a while now. And that is a Lagrangian formulation of Newtonian gravity. I know there is a Lagrangian formulation for general relativity. But I was hoping to find a Lagrangian for Newtonian gravity instead (for some continuous mass...

The Lagrangian for a point particle is just L=-m\sqrt{1-v^2}. If instead we had a continuous distribution of matter, what would its Lagrangian density be? I feel that this should be very easy to figure out, but I can't get a scalar Lagrangian density that reduces to the particle Lagrangian in...

Hey everyone, I wasn't really sure where to post this, since it's kind of classical, kind of relativistic and kind of quantum field theoretical, but essentially mathematical. I'm reading and watching the lectures on Quantum Field Theory by Cambridge's David Tong (which you can find here), and...

Homework Statement [/b] The attempt at a solution[/b] I have done the first bit but don't know how to show that phi(r,t) is a solution to the equation of motion.

This is probably a minor point, but I have seen in some QFT texts the Euler-Lagrange equation for a scalar field, \partial_{\mu} \left(\frac{\delta \cal{L}}{\delta (\partial_{\mu}\phi)}\right) - \frac{\delta \cal L}{\delta \phi }=0 i.e. \cal L is treated like a functional (seen from the...

Hi. Let's say we have a complex scalar field \varphi and we separate it into the real and the imaginary parts: \varphi = (\varphi1 + i\varphi2) It's Lagrangian density L is given by: L = L(\varphi1) + L(\varphi1) Can you tell the argument behind the idea that in summing the densities of...

Hi, guys, Why do we assume Lagrangian Density only depend on field variables and their first derivative? Currently, I am reading Ashok Das's Lectures on Quantum Field Theory. He says (when he is talking about Klein-Gordon Field Theory): "In general, of course, a Lagrangian density...

Homework Statement Derive the Non-Linear Schrödinger from calculus of variationsHomework Equations Lagrangian Density \mathcal{L} = \text{Im}(u^*\partial_t u)+|\partial_x u|^2 -1/2|u|^4 The functional to be extreme: J = \int\limits_{t_1}^{t_2}\int\limits_{-\infty}^{\infty}\...

Hi, Would someone know where I can find a derivation of the lorentz-invariant lagrangian density? This lagrangian often pops-up in books and papers and they take it for granted, but I was actually wondering if there's a "simple" derivation somewhere... Or does it take a whole theory and...

Homework Statement Given the Lagrangian density: L= -\frac{1}{2} \partial_{\mu}A_\nu \partial^{\mu}A^\nu -\frac{1}{c}J_\mu A^\mu (a) find the Euler Lagrange equations of motion. Under what assumptions are they the Maxwell equations of electrodynamics? (b) Show that this Lagrangian...

Homework Statement Given the Lagrangian density: L= -\frac{1}{2} \partial_{\mu}A_\nu \partial^{\mu}A^\nu -\frac{1}{c}J_\mu A^\mu (a) find the Euler Lagrange equations of motion. Under what assumptions are they the Maxwell equations of electrodynamics? (b) Show that this Lagrangian...

I need the general expression for the lagrangian density of a linear elastic solid. I haven't been able to find this anywhere. Thanks.

I understand the definitions of both the classical and relativistic (SR) Lagrangians. But I cannot find a precise mathematical definition of Lagrangian Density. Please assist. Thanks in advance.

What are the dimensions of a scalar field \phi ? The Lagrangian density is: \mathcal L= \partial_\mu \phi \partial^\mu \phi - m^2 \phi \phi So in order to make all the terms have the same units, you can try either: \mathcal L=\frac{\hbar^2}{c^2} \partial_\mu \phi \partial^\mu \phi -...

Hi all, As a blind follower of QFT from the sidelines (the joys of the woefully inadequate teaching of theory to exp. particle physics students...), I have just realized that I've never actually gone further than deriving the Dirac equation, and then just used the Dirac Lagrangian density as...