Scalar field Definition and 190 Threads

Hi. I'd like to ask about the calculation of Noether current. On page16 of David Tong's lecture note(http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/tong/qft.html), there is a topic about Noether current and Lorentz transformation. I want to derive ##\delta \mathcal{L}##, but during my calculation, I...

Suppose I have a self interacting real scalar field ##\phi## with equation of motion ##\partial^i \partial_i \phi + m^2 \phi = -A \phi^2 - B\phi^3##, and I attempt to find constant solutions ##\phi (x,t) = C## for it. The trivial solution is the zero solution ##\phi (x,t) = 0##, but there can...

In the Peskin&Schröder's QFT book there's an exercise that's about a pair of scalar fields, ##\phi_1## and ##\phi_2##, having the field equations ##\left(\partial^{\mu}\partial_{\mu}+m^2 \right)\phi_1 = 0## ##\left(\partial^{\mu}\partial_{\mu}+m^2 \right)\phi_2 = 0## where the mass parameter...

Starting with the action for a free scalar field $$S[\phi]=\frac{1}{2}\int\;d^{4}x\left(\partial_{\mu}\phi(x)\partial^{\mu}\phi(x)-m^{2}\phi^{2}(x)\right)=\int\;d^{4}x\mathcal{L}$$ Naively, if I expand this to second-order, I get $$S[\phi+\delta\phi]=S[\phi]+\int\;d^{4}x\frac{\delta...

Hi. I don't understand the meaning of "up to total derivatives". It was used during a lecture on superfluid. It says as follows: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Lagrangian for complex scalar field ##\phi## is $$ \mathcal{L}=\frac12 (\partial_\mu \phi)^*...

Homework Statement STATEMENT ##\hat{H}=\int \frac{d^3k}{(2\pi)^2}w_k(\hat{a^+(k)}\hat{a(k)} + \hat{b^{+}(k)}\hat{b(k)})## where ##w_k=\sqrt{{k}.{k}+m^2}## The only non vanishing commutation relations of the creation and annihilation operators are: ## [\alpha(k),\alpha^{+}(p)] =(2\pi)^3...

Homework Statement Consider the free real scalar field \phi(x) satisfying the Klein-Gordon equation, write the Hamiltonian in terms of the creation/annihilation operators. Homework Equations Possibly the definition of the free real scalar field in terms of creation/annihilation operators...

I am getting started with QFT and I'm having a hard time to understand the quantization procedure for the simples field: the scalar, massless and real Klein-Gordon field. The approach I'm currently studying is that by Matthew Schwartz. In his QFT book he first solves the classical KG equation...

I've been reading through a derivation of the LSZ reduction formula and I'm slightly confused about the arguments made about the assumptions: $$\langle\Omega\vert\phi(x)\vert\Omega\rangle =0\\ \langle\mathbf{k}\vert\phi(x)\vert\Omega\rangle =e^{ik\cdot x}$$ For both assumptions the author first...

Homework Statement Suppose we have a covariant derivative of covariant derivative of a scalar field. My lecturer said that it should be equal to zero. but I seem to not get it Homework Equations Suppose we have $$X^{AB} = \nabla^A \phi \nabla^B \phi - \frac{1}{2} g^{AB} \nabla_C \phi \nabla^C...

The theory of a complex scalar field ##\chi## is given by $$\mathcal{L}=\partial_{\mu}\chi^{*}\partial^{\mu}\chi-m_{\chi}^{2}\chi^{*}\chi.$$ Why is it not common to include a factor of ##\frac{1}{2}## in front of the complex ##\chi## kinetic term? What is the effect on the propagator of...

## L(x) = L(\phi(x), \partial_{u} \phi (x) ) = -1/2 (m^{2} \phi ^{2}(x) + \partial_{u} \phi(x) \partial^{u} \phi (x))## , the Lagrange density for a real scalar field in 4-d, ##u=0,1,2,3 = t,x,y,z##, below ##i = 1,2,3 =x,y,z## In order to compute the Hamiltonian I first of all need to compute...

## L(x) = L(\phi(x), \partial_{u} \phi (x) ) = -1/2 (m^{2} \phi ^{2}(x) + \partial_{u} \phi(x) \partial^{u} \phi (x))## , the Lagrange density. ## S= \int d^{4}(x) L (x) ##, the action. ## \phi -> \phi + \delta \phi ## (just shortened the notation and dropped the x dependence) I have ##...

Homework Statement Let T(r) be a scalar field. Show that, in spherical coordinates ∇T = (∂T/∂r) rˆ + (1/r)(∂T/∂θ) θˆ + (1/(r*sin(θ)))(∂T/∂φ) φˆ Hint. Compute T(r+dl)−T(r) = T(r+dr, θ+dθ, φ+dφ)−T(r, θ, φ) in two different ways for the infinitesimal displacement dl = dr rˆ + rdθ θˆ + r*sin(θ)dφ...

Homework Statement Prove that the Noether charge ##Q=\frac{i}{2}\int\ d^{3}x\ (\phi^{*}\pi^{*}-\phi\pi)## for a complex scalar field (governed by the Klein-Gordon action) is a constant in time. Homework Equations ##\pi=\dot{\phi}^{*}## The Attempt at a Solution...

I find it difficult to believe that the canonical commutation relations for a complex scalar field are of the form ##[\phi(t,\vec{x}),\pi^{*}(t,\vec{y})]=i\delta^{(3)}(\vec{x}-\vec{y})## ##[\phi^{*}(t,\vec{x}),\pi(t,\vec{y})]=i\delta^{(3)}(\vec{x}-\vec{y})## This seems to imply that the two...

Hi everyone, I got the basic ideas quintessence (minimally coupled) and derived the KG equation for scalar field: $$ \ddot{\phi} + 3 H \dot{\phi} + \frac{\partial V(\phi)}{\partial \phi} = 0 $$ where $$H=\frac{\dot{a}}{a}$$ and $\phi$ is the scalar field. There are various models depending...

Hi. This question most probably shows my lack of understanding on the topic: why are scalar fields Lorentz invariant? Imagine a field T(x) [x is a vector; I just don't know how to write it, sorry] that tells us the temperature in each point of a room. We make a rotation in the room and now...

In the canonical quantisation of a free scalar field ##\phi## one typical constructs a mode expansion of the corresponding field operator ##\hat{\phi}## as a solution to the Klein-Gordon equation...

Homework Statement for the line segment c2 , why did the author want to differentiate dx with respect to dy ? and he gt dx = 0 ? I'm curious why did he didnt do so for C3 , where dy= 0 ..Why didnt he also differentiate dy with dx ? dy/dx = 0 ? Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution is...

Homework Statement Page 35 of Jackson's Electrodynamics (3rd ed), it gives the following equation (basically trying to prove your standard 1/r potential is a solution to Poisson equation): \nabla^2 \Phi_a = \frac{ -1 }{ \epsilon_0 } \int \frac{ a^2 }{( r^2 + a^2)^{5/2} } \rho( \boldsymbol{x'}...

According to David Tong's notes the real scalar field can't be coupled to the electromagnetic field because it doesn't have any "suitable" conserved currents. What does "suitable" mean? The real field does have conserved currents, why aren't those suitable?

In field theory we most of deal with theories whose Lagrangian densities are of the form (sticking to scalar fields for simplicity) $$\mathcal{L}= -\frac{1}{2}\partial_{\mu}\phi\partial^{\mu}\phi - \frac{1}{2}m_{\phi}^{2}\phi^{2} + \cdots$$ where ##\partial := \frac{\partial}{\partial x^{\mu}}##...

Hello, I am having trouble deriving the equation of motion for the quintessence field. The equation of motion which I am meant to get at the end point is: (with ' denoting derivative w.r.t time) φ'' + 3Hφ' + dV/dφ = 0 Using the inflaton lagrangian: (although with a generic potential V(φ)...

I'm looking for a demonstration of the equation governing the evolution of the scalar field: ## \Box \phi = \frac{1}{\sqrt{g}} \frac{ \partial}{\partial x^{\mu}} \sqrt(g)g^{(\mu)(\nu)} \frac{\partial}{\partial x^{\nu}} \phi=0## I used the lagrangian for a scalar field: ## L = \nabla_{\mu}\phi...

The magnetic field has no net source or sinks i.e. number of sources are equal to the number of sinks. Can a scalar field also have no net source? Or a source is required for a scalar field?

Can a scalar field exert a torque on a particle?

Homework Statement Page 16 (attached file) \frac{dH}{dt}|_{t=0} = Δ_{Σ}φ + Ric (ν,ν)φ+|A|^{2}φ \frac{d}{dt}(dσ_{t})|_{t=0} = - φHdσ H = mean curvature of surface Σ A = the second fundamental of Σ ν = the unit normal vector field along Σ φ = the scalar field on three manifold M φ∈C^{∞}(Σ)...

I'm looking for good examples of physical motivation for integrals over scalar field. Here is an example I've found: If you want to know the final temperature of an object that travels through a medium described with a temperature field then you'll need a line integral It appears to me that...

Homework Statement A self-interacting real scalar field ##\psi(x)## is described by the Lagrangian density ##\mathcal L = \mathcal L_o + \mathcal L_I = \frac{1}{2} (\partial_{\mu}\psi)(\partial^{\mu}\psi) − \frac{1}{2}m^2\psi^2 − \frac{g}{4!}\psi^4 ## where g is a real coupling constant, and...

The conserved 4-momentum operator for the complex scalar field ##\psi = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(\psi_1 + i\psi_2)## is given in terms of the mode operators in ##\psi## and ##\psi^{\dagger}## as $$P^{\nu} = \int \frac{d^3 p}{(2\pi)^3 }\frac{1}{2 \omega(p)} p^{\nu} (a^{\dagger}(p) a(p) +...

Hi, the following is taken from Peskin and Schroeder page 36: ##\partial_{\mu}\phi(x) \rightarrow \partial_{\mu}(\phi(\Lambda^{-1}x)) = (\Lambda^{-1})^{\nu}_{\mu}(\partial_{\nu}\phi)(\Lambda^{-1}x)## It describes the transformation law for a scalar field ##\phi(x)## for an active...

Homework Statement The aim is to find a solution for the scale factor in a Robertson Walker Metric with a scalar field and a Lagrange multiplier. Homework Equations I have this action S=-\frac{1}{2}\int...

Hello, I am attempting to calculate unit normal and tangent vectors for a scalar field I have, Φ(x,y). For my unit normal, I simply used: \hat{n}=\frac{\nabla \phi}{|\nabla \phi|} However, I'm struggling with using this approach to calculate the unit tangent. I need to express it in terms of the...

Hi, if we adopt the convention, a^{\dagger}_\textbf{p} |0\rangle = |\textbf{p}\rangle then we get a normalization that is not Lorentz invariant, i.e. \langle \textbf{p} | \textbf{q} \rangle = (2\pi)^3 \delta^{(3)}(\textbf{p} - \textbf{q}) . How do I explicitly show that this delta...

Hello, This problem is in reference to the QFT lecture notes (p.18-19) by Timo Weigand (Heidelberg University). He writes: For the real scalar fields, we get self-adjoint operators \phi(\textbf{x}) = \phi^{\dagger}(\textbf{x}) with the commutation relations [\phi(\textbf{x})...

Hello, new to this website, but one question that's been killing me is how can curl of a gradient of a scalar field be null vector when mixed partial derivatives are not always equal?? consider Φ(x,y,z) a scalar function consider the determinant [(i,j,k),(∂/∂x,∂/∂y,∂/∂z),(∂Φ/∂x, ∂Φ/∂y, ∂Φ/∂z)]...

Puting a minus in front of the momentum in the field expansion gives ##\phi \left( {\bf{x}} \right) = \int {{d^3}\tilde p} \left( {{a_{\bf{p}}}{e^{i{\bf{p}} \cdot {\bf{x}}}} + a_{\bf{p}}^ + {e^{ - i{\bf{p}} \cdot {\bf{x}}}}} \right){\rm{ }}\phi \left( {\bf{x}} \right) = \int {{d^3}\tilde...

Hello, I'm reading Tong's lecture notes on QFT and I'm stuck on the following problem, found on p.11-12. A scalar field \phi , under a Lorentz transformation, x \to \Lambda x , transforms as \phi(x) \to \phi'(x) = \phi(\Lambda^{-1} x) and the derivative of the scalar field transforms...

When one considers a Lorentz transformation between two frames ##S## and ##S'##, such that the coordinates in ##S## are given by ##x^{\mu}## and the coordinates in ##S'## are given by ##x'^{\mu}##, with the two related by x'^{\mu}=\Lambda^{\mu}_{\;\;\nu}x^{\nu} then a scalar field ##\phi (x)##...

First of all, I copy the text in my lecture note. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In general, $$e^{-iTH}$$ cannot be written exactly in a useful way in terms of creation and annihilation operators. However, we can do it perturbatively, order by order in the coupling $$ \lambda $$. For...

Is it possible to have a free massless scalar field in 1+1 spacetime and then add another field of the right type which interacts with some adjustable strength with the massless field to give mass to the massless field? Is there a Higgs-like mechanism in 1+1 spacetime? Thanks for any help!

Suppose there is a real scalar field ##\phi## with some decay width ##\Gamma## to some fermion. The quantum equation of motion after one-loop correction takes the form ##\ddot{\phi}+(m^2+im\Gamma)\phi=0## where ##m## is the renormalized mass. The solution can be obtained as ##\phi=\phi_0...

Kolb&Turner in "the early universe" mentioned that for a scalar field ##\phi## at finite temperature, ##p=-V_T(\phi)## and ##\rho=-p+T\frac{d p(T)}{d T}## where ##V_T## is potential energy including temperature correction. My question is: when we consider the evolution of the universe using...

What does it mean if a scalar field φ is said to be constant on a surface S? Does φ then have a particular mathematical relationship with S?

Homework Statement (a) Find the christoffel symbols (Done). (b) Show that ##\phi## is a solution and find the relation between A and B.[/B] Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution Part(b) \nabla_\mu \nabla^\mu \phi = 0 I suppose for a scalar field, this is simply the normal derivative...

Homework Statement Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution I solved #2,4 but I don't understand what #1,3 need to me. I know that scalar field is a function of points associating scalar value. But how can I prove some function is scalar field or vector field?

Hi, I am trying to calculate the laplacian of a scalar field but I might actually need something else. So basically I am applying reaction diffusion on a 2d image. I am reading the neighbours, multiplying them with these weights and then add them. This works great. I don't know if what I am...

Homework Statement Consider the following real scalar field in two dimensions: S = \int d^2 x ( \frac{1}{2} \partial_\mu \phi \partial^\mu \phi - \frac{1}{2} m^2 \phi^2 - g \phi^3) What are the Feynman rules for calculating < \Omega | T(\phi_1 ... \phi_n ) | \Omega > 2. Homework...

Homework Statement Demonstrate the equivalence between the gauge fields A1=(0,bx,0) and A2=)-yB/2,xB/2,0) and find the scalar field Φ for which A1= A2 + ∇ΦHomework Equations B = ∇XA The Attempt at a Solution The first part is fine, you just plug it into the above relevant equation and you get...