Symmetry Definition and 907 Threads

Homework Statement The motion of a complex field ##\psi(x)## is governed by the Lagrangian ##\mathcal{L} = \partial_{\mu}\psi^{*}\partial^{\mu}\psi-m^{2}\psi^{*}\psi-\frac{\lambda}{2}(\psi^{*}\psi)^{2}##. Write down the Euler-Lagrange field equations for this system. Verify that the...

Hi everyone, I am self-studying Electricity and Magnetism. I have a good grasp in Calculus, but still I am confused on how to figure out volumes of arbitrary figures(rest is easy). I know it's a bit silly. I mean how do we know how to choose a figure (like in case of hemisphere, you imagine...

The following is taken from page 101 of Warren Siegel's textbook 'Fields.' Another example is quantum mechanics, where the arbitrariness of the phase of the wave function can be considered a symmetry: Although quantum mechanics can be reformulated in terms of phase-invariant probabilities...

Consider a theory with two multiplets of real scalar fields ##\phi_i## and ##\epsilon_i##, where ##i### runs from 1 to N. The Lagrangian is given by: $$\mathcal L = \frac{1}{2} (\partial_{\mu} \phi_i) (\partial^{\mu} \phi_i) + \frac{1}{2} (\partial_{\mu} \epsilon_i) (\partial^{\mu} \epsilon_i)...

I can't seem to find an explicit or analytical solution to a boundary value problem and thought I might ask those more knowledgeable on the subject than me. If t is an independent variable and m(t) and n(t) are two dependent variables with the following 8 constraints: a) m' =0 @T=0 and...

I'm studing Gauss law for gravitational field flux for a mass that has spherical symmetry. Maybe it is an obvious question but what are exactly the propreties of a spherical simmetric body? Firstly does this imply that the body in question must be a sphere? Secondly is it correct to...

The part I'm confused about - in order to have two distinct observations of a system you want to check for symmetry isn't something asymmetrical is required to distinguish them... as distinct observations. If we say a system is completely closed and are restricted to refer only to that system...

My teacher says that "N" has no plane of symmetry(POS). But shouldn't the plane shown with blue be POS? I understand that a plane of symmetry bisects a molecule into halves that are mirror images of each other. For this reason, this plane shown here should be the POS. Where am I...

Suppose we have an electron in a hydrogen atom that satisfies the time-independent Schrodinger equation: $$-\frac{\hbar ^{2}}{2m}\nabla ^{2}\psi - \frac{e^{2}}{4\pi \epsilon_{0}r}\psi = E\psi$$ How can it be that the Hamiltonian is spherically-symmetric when the energy eigenstate isn't? I was...

This is a continuation of a side issue from another thread.

I was looking at the wikipedia article on CPT and it starts with "Charge, Parity, and Time Reversal Symmetry is a fundamental symmetry of physical laws under the simultaneous transformations of charge conjugation (C), parity transformation (P), and time reversal (T)." What does it mean that CPT...

I realize there has been quite a few threads on this topic lately but I wanted to ask some questions that I have here. The following are statements from my lecture notes and I have write my questions after each statement. In the gauge sector of the electroweak theory, we can write down...

Dear all Do we have chiral symmetry for weak interaction? I know that weak interaction is chiral. thank you

AFAIK super symmetry as yet has no experimental evidence in cosmology, will it become part of cosmology in some useful application?

To show that the Lagrangian ##L## is invariant under a rotation of ##\theta##, it is common practice to show that it is invariant under a rotation of ##\delta\theta##, an infinitesimal angle, and then use the fact that a rotation of ##\theta## is a composite of many rotations of...

I am told that in ferromagnets, time reversal symmetry is broken. However, I don't know any hamiltonian terms in solid that can break time reversal symmetry. So is there a hamiltonian term I don't know or is there any subtlety in ferromagnets?

Hi PF, As you may know, is the the elasticity/stiffness tensor for isotropic and homogeneous materials characterized by two independant material parameters (λ and μ) and is given by the bellow representation. C_{ijkl} = \lambda\delta_{ij}\delta_{kl} + \mu(\delta_{ik}\delta_{jl} +...

Why are ##<j_1j_2m_1m_2|jm>## and ##<j_2j_1m_2m_1|jm>## negative of each other when ##j_1+j_2-j## is odd as given below? I would expect ##<j_1j_2m_1m_2|jm>## and ##<j_2j_1m_2m_1|jm>## to always have the same sign since nature doesn't care which particle we label as particle 1 and which as...

Homework Statement [/B] A semiconducting nanowire has a volume charge density ρ(r)=ρ0(r/R) where R is the radius of the nanowire. How would you calculate the electric field inside the wire? Homework Equations Gauss's Law The Attempt at a Solution [/B] I know that by symmetry the E field...

Hello everybody, As I mentioned in the title, it is about molecular symmetry and its Hamiltonian. My question is simple: For any molecule that belong to a precise point symmetry group. Is the Hamiltonian of this molecule commute with all the symmetry element of its point symmetry group...

Okay guys So I was studying up some electric current and doing electric current problems I am clear with kirchhoffs rules And with series-parallel resistor combinations But I am not quite clear with the symmetric distribution of current Or symmetry in circuits, in particular Could you guys...

I have drawn five connected diagrams that arise in ##\phi^4## theory. I was wondering if the symmetry factors I have for each of them are correct and if I have missed any graphs. I only want to consider the case of ##V=3, ## with ## J=0,...4## in turn. (V: number of vertices which i denoted by a...

I've been reading up a bit on semiconductor quantum wells, and came across a selection rule for an infinite quantum well that says that "Δn = n' - n = 0", where n' is the quantum well index of an excited electron state in the conduction band, and n is the index of the valence band state where...

In chapter 4 of "Modern Quantum Mechanics" by Sakurai, in the section where the SO(4) symmetry in Coulomb potential is discussed, the following commutation relations are given: ## [L_i,L_j]=i\hbar \varepsilon_{ijk} L_k## ## [M_i,L_j]=i\hbar \varepsilon_{ijk}M_k## ## [M_i,M_j]=-i\hbar...

Symmetry breaking separates the electromagnetic and weak force from the electroweak force. Is there an opposite procedure or symmetry unbreaking in which the em and weak force can be made to combine? What other forces or examples in physics where you can do reverse symmetry breaking or symmetry...

I was thinking about hadrons in general Yang-Mills theory and I have some doubts that I'd like to discuss with you. Suppose that we have a Yang-Mills theory that, like QCD, tend to bind quarks into color singlet states. So far nothing strange, even QED tend to bind electromagnetic charges to...

I have a question. According to Noether's theorem, "For each symmetry of the Lagrangian, there is a conserved quantity." But soon I thought that I can also prove "For each conserved quantiry, there is a symmetry of the Lagrangian." Actually I can prove the second statement if I start prove...

Homework Statement For an infinite potential well of length [0 ; L], I am asked to write the following function ##\Psi## (at t=0) as a superposition of eigenstates (##\psi_n##): $$\Psi (x, t=0)=Ax(L-x) $$ for ## 0<x<L##, and ##0## everywhere else. The attempt at a solution I have first...

What is the "plane of symmetry", "zero velocity wall" and "free surface" terms which I have seen in Polyflow? It says in Vnormal=Fs=0 for plane of symmetry and Vnormal= Vs= 0 for zero velocity Wall. Now I get when Vs=Vn=0 it means that the wall isn't moving and it's in a static state but didnt...

Homework Statement Problem statement: In the attached figure, two curved plastic rods, one of charge q and the other of charge q, form a circle of radius R 8.50 cm in an xy plane. The x-axis passes through both of the connecting points, and the charge is distributed uniformly on both rods. If q...

A symmetry of a physical system is a physical or mathematical feature of the system that is preserved or remains unchanged under some transformation. For example, the speed of light is an example of symmetry and its value will always will always remain the same no matter where and what...

Hello, I am working in 1D here. For the ferromagnetic Ising model ##H = -\sum_k X_k X_{k+1}## (or ##H = -YY##) we know that the ground state is gapped and has a twofold degeneracy due to SSB (spontaneous symmetry breaking) of the spin flip symmetry ##P = Z_1 Z_2 Z_3 \cdots##. I am now...

Homework Statement Find the volume of the solid lying inside both the sphere x^2 + y^2 + z^2 = 4a^2 and the cylinder x^2 + y^2 = 2ay above the xy plane. Homework Equations Polar coordinates: r^2 = x^2 + y^2 x = r\cos(\theta) y = r\sin(\theta) The Attempt at a Solution So I tried this...

I don't really understand what this really means. To understand how a symmetry can be "broken", we descend from the land of abstraction back to everyday world. Imagine you are on a train, zipping through the countryside. E.g. Let's make it a super modern train, using magnetic levitation to...

The part I understand: I understand that the spontaneous symmetry breaking of the Higgs produces the 'Mexican hat' potential, with two non-zero stable equilibria. I understand that as the Higgs is a complex field, there exists a phase component of the field. Under gauge transformations of...

Homework Statement Consider an arbitrary rigid body with an axis of rotational symmetry, which we'll call ## \hat z ## a.) Prove that the axis of symmetry is a principal axis. (b) Prove that any two directions ##\hat x## and ##\hat y ## perpendicular to ##\hat z ## and each other are also...

I understand there are quite a few GUT candidates. I also understand that among these candidates some are considered by the theoretical physics community to be more likely to be correct than others. I am curious about what each of the various GUT candidates predicts as the time (relative to...

If I have a periodic wave x(t) with half-wave symmetry, it means that: x(t + T0/2) = -x(t) where T0 is the period of the wave. Would this automatically lead to the conclusion that X(t + T0/2) = -X(t) where X'(t) = x(t), i.e X(t) is the integral of x(t). ?

The source I'm using is: http://inperc.com/wiki/index.php?title=Homology_classes And they say Symmetry: A∼B⇒B∼A . If path q connects A to B then p connects B to A ; just pick p(t)=q(1−t),∀t . Transitivity: A∼B , B∼C⇒A∼C . If path q connects A to B and path p connects B to C then...

Homework Statement Show that if a transformation ##\Phi \rightarrow \Phi + \alpha \partial \Phi/ \partial \alpha## is not a symmetry of the Lagrangian, then the Noether current is no longer conserved, but rather ##\partial_{\mu}J^{\mu} = \partial L/ \partial \alpha##. Use this result to show...

Can there be interactions that are symmetric under low temperatures but exhibit spontaneous symmetry breaking under extremely low temperatures? (Maybe that symmetry breaking temperature is so low that it couldn't be discovered in experiments) Does electromagnetism split into electricity and...

As I understand it a Green's function ##G(x,y)## for a translationally invariant differential equation satisfies $$G(x+a,y+a)=G(x,y)\qquad\Rightarrow\qquad G(x,y)=G(x-y)$$ (where ##a## is an arbitrary constant shift.) My question is, given such a translationally invariant system, how does one...

The Hamiltonian is not always equal to the total energy. In fact the Hamiltonian for a system of particles could be defined as ##H=L-\sum \dot{q_i}\frac{\partial L}{\partial \dot{q_i}}## Which is the total energy only if the potential energy is a function of ##q_i## and if the kinetic energy...

Hi folks, I know nothing about groups or symmetry. Could anyone recommend a good introduction that defines groups and explains their notation and operations? I am particularly interested in general, orthogonal, and unitary groups. Thanks in advance. Kevin

There are problems in classical electromagnetism where they ask you to find the electrical displacement given some geometry (like a sphere or a cylinder) and the dielectric constant ##\epsilon_r##. The solution to these problems typically employs symmetry arguments along with Gauss' laws for...

Hi guys, i have been confused by one statement on the spatial correlation funciton in the statistical physics textbook. They say for a spatial correlation function f(x1,x2), where x1 and x2 are the coordinate of particle 1 and 2, if the system has translational symmetry, then f depends only...

I completely have no idea what time-reversal mean. Why does, by substituting -t into an equation and if the result is the same as the original equation, then the equation is said to be time-reversal symmetry? Also, what does that 'symmetry' mean there? An even function?

SO(3) is subgroup of Poicare group.Does Relativistic Quantum Mechanics obey rotational symmetry.If it is,why we do not still keep the non-relativistic concept of angular momentum(orbit angular momentum plus spin) for relativistic concept of angular momentum,but we instead replace the concept by...

Homework Statement Given L (q, dq/dt, t). translation: q ---> q + e (e is infinitesimal constant) show that if ∂L/∂q = 0, then L is symmetry under the above translation. then find conserved quantity. Homework Equations S = ∫ L dt The Attempt at a Solution My attempt is nothing... because I...

Do any band structure (in absence of any external field) in general, is symmetric with respect to k? In other words, do we always have E(k)=E(-k).