How do baryons transform under chiral transformations?

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    Baryon Lagrangian
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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the transformation properties of baryons under chiral transformations, particularly in the context of constructing effective Lagrangians for hadrons. Participants explore the differences in treatment between baryons and mesons, with a focus on theoretical frameworks such as the linear sigma model and the octet of baryons under the symmetry group ##SU(3)_L\times SU(3)_R##.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks clarity on how baryons transform under chiral transformations, noting the ease of understanding meson transformations due to their interpretation as Goldstone bosons.
  • Another participant references the linear sigma model, explaining that the nucleon is introduced as a Dirac spinor and that chiral symmetry is represented as ##SU(2)_L\times SU(2)_R## acting independently on the spinor's chiral components.
  • A different participant expresses interest in the transformation of the octet of baryons ##B## under ##SU(3)_L\times SU(3)_R##, mentioning a specific transformation involving Goldstone boson fields and a transformation structure as described in a cited paper.
  • One participant suggests a resource, mentioning a draft of Georgi's book that discusses nonlinear realizations and relevant notation, indicating a need to refer to the meson discussion for context.
  • A participant acknowledges having read the suggested resource but still has lingering doubts, indicating ongoing uncertainty in understanding.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion reflects a lack of consensus, with participants expressing differing levels of familiarity with the topic and various references, leading to ongoing questions and uncertainties regarding baryon transformations.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the complexity of nonlinear realizations and the need for specific references to fully grasp the transformation properties, indicating potential limitations in their current understanding.

Andrea M.
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I'm trying to understand how to construct effective lagrangians for the hadrons. I understand the procedure for the mesons but I get stuck on baryons. In particular I don't understand how the baryons should transform under a chiral transformation. I mean for the mesons it was easy because they could be interpreted as the Goldston bosons of the theory, but for baryons?

Thanks in advance for the answers.
 
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Are you working from a specific reference? In the linear sigma model, for example, the nucleon is introduced as a Dirac spinor. The chiral symmetry is manifest as ##SU(2)_L\times SU(2)_R##, where the factors act independently on the chiral components of the spinor.
 
I'd like to understand how the octet of baryons ##B## transforms under ##SU(3)_L\times SU(3)_R##. The only thing I know is that it must transforms as the eight dimensional representation of the unbroken symmetry ##SU(3)_V## but I don't get why it should transform like
$$
B\to h(\phi,g)Bh^{\dagger}(\phi,g)
$$
where ##\phi## are Goldstone bosons fields, ##g## is a ##SU(3)_L\times SU(3)_R## transformation and ##h## is a ##SU(3)_V## transformation as claimed for example in Pich, A. & de Rafael, E., 1991. Strong CP violation in an effective chiral Lagrangian approach. Nucl. Phys., B367(2), pp.313–333.
 
I am not that familiar with specific nonlinear realizations, but there is a draft version of Georgi's book available at www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~hgeorgi/weak.pdf. This representation is discussed in Ch. 6, but you will need to refer to the discussion of mesons in Ch. 5 to figure out the notation.
 
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Yes I've already read this but I still have some doubts, I will give him another chance.
 

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