Lagrangian of Standard Model Deduction

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the derivation and mathematical background of the updated Lagrangian of the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. Participants explore various aspects of the Lagrangian, including its formulation based on local gauge invariance and the role of different gauge groups and representations.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks resources for the deduction of the updated SM Lagrangian, expressing interest in its mathematical background.
  • Another participant clarifies that the Standard Model is based on experimental observations and is not derived in a traditional sense.
  • A participant suggests that the term "deduction" may not be appropriate and proposes "mathematical background" instead.
  • It is noted that the SM Lagrangian can be viewed as a spontaneously broken Yang-Mills theory with the gauge group SU(3)xSU(2)xU(1), incorporating various fermion fields in different representations.
  • A participant discusses the construction of invariant objects under local symmetries, detailing specific representations for quarks and gauge bosons.
  • Examples are provided for constructing mass terms for leptons, emphasizing the need for mixing left and right-handed fields and the role of the Higgs in creating invariant objects.
  • A link to an external resource is shared for further reading on the electroweak part of the theory.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the nature of deriving the SM Lagrangian, with some emphasizing its experimental basis while others focus on the mathematical formulation. No consensus is reached on the best approach to understanding the Lagrangian.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the complexity of constructing the Lagrangian, including the need for specific representations and the role of hypercharge, indicating that certain assumptions and definitions are critical to the discussion.

StephvsEinst
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Does anyone know where can I find the deduction of all terms of the updated SM lagrangian? Although I have already looked at some lagrangians and theories like local gauge invariance, Yang-Mills theory, feynman rules, spontaneous symmetry-breaking and others, I wanted to see the deduction and simplification of the updated SM lagrangian.

Thank you,
Jorge.
 
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What do you mean by "deduction"? The Standard Model is postulated and tested against experiment. It was postulated on the basis of several experimental observations of the different interactions.
 
When I said deduction I was thinking of the mathematics behind the SM Lagrangian. Probably deduction wasn't the best word to use, instead I should have said "mathematical background".
 
It is essentially nothing else than a spontaneously broken Yang-Mills theory with the gauge group SU(3)xSU(2)xU(1) with a bunch of fermion fields transforming under different representations of the gauge groups.
 
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Summed up looks easy xD
I will work on that, thank you for the reply.
 
I don't think you can deduce it out of somewhere... you take your local symmetries and create invariant objects under those symmetry transformations. The thing is that nothing (at least only by that principle) to write down many terms or insert different things. But if you write down some representations you'll have:
(3 , 1,1) : a triplet under SU(3) alone, and SU(2) singlet . Here you can have right handed quarks, since they don't see the weak sector
(3, 2, 1) : a triplet under SU(3), a doublet under SU(2). Here you can have left handed quarks , which can interact under both strong and weak interactions.
(8, 1, 1) : the gauge bosons of SU(3)
(1, 3,1 ) : the gauge bosons of SU(2)
(1,1,1) : Here you can have the right handed fermions.
(1, 2, 1) :colorless SU(2) doublets... here you can have the Higgs or the left handed leptons.
The last 1 in the parenthesis could as well be changed...it's in fact the hypercharge of the particle (but because this can change from particle to particle I just wrote 1)
in a notations [SU(3) , SU(2), U(1)]... I don't know if I forgot anything...
Also for the SU(3) triplets you must have in mind that 3 could as well be \bar{3} (the complex repr). For SU(2) that's not the case, since 2 \equiv \bar{2}.

One example to get an idea of a term, is to write down a mass term for the leptons... In that case you need something like : m \bar{\psi}_L \bar{\psi}_R which means you need to mix the left and right handed leptons... going to the above scheme you have to make an invariant object with:
(1,2,Y_1) and (1,1,Y_2). The result of those two would be (1,2,Y_1) \otimes (1,1,Y_2) = (1,2,Y_1+Y_2)
In order to make an invariant object with those two, you need an extra SU(2) doublet (because a 2\otimes 2=3 \oplus 1 contains the singlet) and with hypercharge -Y_1 -Y_2 - and that's the role for the Higgs... As a result you obtain the lepton Yuawa terms.
The result of those three combinations would have to be (1,1,0)
 
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