Show How Theta Term in QCD Lagrangian is a Total Derivative

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Discussion Overview

The discussion focuses on demonstrating that the theta term in the QCD Lagrangian, specifically ##\alpha G^a_{\mu\nu} \widetilde{G^a_{\mu\nu}}##, can be expressed as a total derivative. Participants explore various mathematical approaches and references to literature, while addressing the complexities involved in the derivation.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant outlines an expansion of the theta term using the definitions of ##G^a_{\mu\nu}## and ##\widetilde{G^a_{\mu\nu}}##, leading to a complex expression that they struggle to simplify into a total derivative form.
  • Another participant suggests looking at specific equations from external papers and textbooks, indicating that these sources may provide the necessary derivation or clarification.
  • Further contributions mention the use of mathematical identities involving derivatives and the Levi-Civita symbol to manipulate the terms, although the exact application and results are not universally agreed upon.
  • There is a question raised about the notation used in the definitions, particularly regarding the indices and their implications for the derivation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the derivation process or the specific steps needed to show that the theta term is a total derivative. Multiple approaches and references are suggested, but no single method is universally accepted as correct.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty about the application of certain mathematical techniques and the implications of notation in the derivation process. There are unresolved steps in the derivation that depend on the manipulation of complex expressions involving the Levi-Civita symbol and structure constants.

Kara386
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I'm trying to show that the theta term in the QCD Lagrangian, ##\alpha G^a_{\mu\nu} \widetilde{G^a_{\mu\nu}}##, can be written as a total derivative, where
##\begin{equation} G^a_{\mu\nu} = \partial_{\mu} G^a_{\nu} - \partial_{\nu}G^a_{\mu}-gf_{bca}G^b_{\mu}G^c_{\nu} \end{equation} ##
##\widetilde{G^a_{\mu\nu}} = \frac{1}{2} \epsilon^{\mu\nu\lambda\rho}G^a_{\lambda\rho} ##
And ##\epsilon## is the Levi-Civita symbol.

The thing is, plenty of papers and books say that this is a total derivative, and give absolutely no indication of how to show that. Well, it's been suggested I should use the wedge product, but I've never encountered it and I thought brute force should work fine. So I expand ##G^a_{\lambda\rho}## using the first equation, multiply the two and expand the brackets:
##\frac{1}{2} \epsilon^{\mu\nu\lambda\rho} (\partial_{\lambda}G^a_{\rho}\partial_{\mu}G^a_{\nu}-\partial_{\lambda}G^a_{\rho}\partial_{\nu}G^a_{\mu}-\partial_{\lambda}G^a_{\rho}gf_{bca}G^b_{\mu}G^c_{\nu}-\partial_{rho}G^a_{\lambda}\partial_{\mu}G^a_{\nu}+\partial_{\rho}G^a_{\lambda}\partial_{\nu}G^a_{\mu}+\partial_{\rho}G^a_{\lambda}gf_{bca}G^b_{\mu}G^c_{\nu}-gf_{bca}G^b_{\lambda}G^c_{\rho}\partial_{\mu}G^a_{\nu}+gf_{bca}G^b_{\lambda}G^c_{\rho}\partial_{\nu}G^a_{\mu}+g^2f^2_{bca}G^b_{\lambda}G^c_{\rho}G^b_{\mu}G^c_{\nu})##
So that looks a mess, but because the Levi-Civita symbol is antisymmetric that equals
##\frac{1}{2}\epsilon^{\mu\nu\lambda\rho}(4\partial_{\lambda}G^a_{\rho}\partial_{\mu}G^a_{\nu}+2\partial_{\rho}G^a_{\lambda}gf_{bca}G^b_{\mu}G^c_{\nu}+2gf_{bca}G^b_{\lambda}G^c_{\rho}\partial_{\nu}G^a_{\mu}+g^2f^2_{bca}G^b_{\lambda}G^c_{\rho}G^b_{\mu}G^c_{\nu})##
What it's meant to be, somehow, is
##\partial_{\mu}\left(\alpha \epsilon^{\mu\nu\lambda\rho}G^a_{\nu}(G^a_{\lambda\rho} +\frac{1}{3}g f_{bca}G^b_{\lambda}G^c_{\rho}) \right)##
But I really, really can't see how you'd get there! I'm also a little confused about why the indices ##\mu## and ##\nu## are different in the definition of the dual, but the ##a## is kept the same - don't I need to relabel b,c,a?

I'd massively appreciate any pointers, I've been stuck on this for quite a while!
 
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Maybe this derivation appears in Srednicki's textbook or its solution manual.
 
for those terms with no g, you can use ∂A∂B = ∂(A∂B) - A∂∂B,then you can find the second term εμναβ∂∂ should be zero.
for terms with g, you need ∂(ABC) = ∂ABC+A∂BC+AB∂C, and combining them with εμναβ fabc, you will see the right hand three terms are equivalent with each other, that's why you get a 1/3 before AAA.
as for the last term with g2, you will find it is zero after you use the property of εμναβ and fabcfaef.
 

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