What is the role of Z, W, and photon fields in the Lagrangian density?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the roles of the Z, W, and photon fields in the context of the Lagrangian density related to electroweak theory. Participants explore the relationships and interactions between these gauge fields, particularly focusing on their coupling to isospin doublets and electromagnetic interactions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes the Lagrangian density and the components of the gauge fields, including the definitions of the W, Z, and photon fields.
  • Another participant suggests that there are coupling terms between the W and A' fields, indicating that W is charged under electromagnetism, while Z does not couple to the photon and is electrically neutral.
  • A participant questions the nature of the photon field A' and its relationship to the SU(2) isospin field A3μ, suggesting that it could couple to isospin doublets.
  • Another participant confirms that the photon field, being partially composed of A3, will couple to weak isospin doublets, leading to different couplings for the up and down components of the doublet.
  • There is a clarification on the electroweak symmetry breaking, noting that U(1) electromagnetism arises from a combination of U(1) hypercharge and SU(2) isospin, affecting how the photon interacts with charged particles.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the coupling properties of the W and Z fields, particularly regarding their interactions with the photon and isospin doublets. The discussion remains unresolved as participants explore these relationships without reaching a consensus.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty about the implications of the gauge field definitions and their interactions, particularly in relation to the electroweak symmetry breaking and the nature of the couplings involved.

Morgoth
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I was looking at the Lagrangian density:

L= -\frac{1}{4} Α^{α}_{μν}Α^{μν}_{α}-\frac{1}{4} Β^{}_{μν}Β^{μν}_{}+\bar{e}_{R}(i∂-g'B)e_{R}
+\bar{L}_{e} (i\partial-\frac{g'}{2}B+\frac{g}{2}τ^{α}Α_{α})L_{e}-G_{e}\frac{f+p(x)}{\sqrt{2}}(\bar{e}_{R}e_{L}+{e}_{R} \bar{e}_{L})
+\frac{1}{2}({\partial}_{μ} p(x))^{2} +\frac{1}{8} (f+p)^{2} [ (g' {B}_μ-g A_{μ}^{3})^{2} + g^{2} ({Α}_{μ}^{1} Α^{μ1} +{Α}_{μ}^{2} Α^{μ2}) ] - V( \frac{(f+p(x))^{2}}{2})

Now I will try to explain what everything is (although i don't know if it has anything to do with the question I want to make):
Le is the doublet of Isospin
{L}_{e}=( {v}_{e} , {e}_{L} )
{e}_{L}=\frac{1}{2} (1-γ^{5}) {Ψ}_{e} the left component of the electron spinor-wavefunction
with hypercharge -1

{e}_{R}=\frac{1}{2} (1+γ^{5}) {Ψ}_{e} the right component.
with hypercharge -2

there are the 3 gauge fields {A}_{μ}^{α}, α=1,2,3 for the SU(2) with coupling constant g.
the 1 gauge field {Β}_{μ} for Uy(1) with coupling constant g'/2

and for the symmetry breaking I used 4 scalar fields (2 complex)
Φ=(Φ* Φ0)
with hypercharge +1
and the well known Potential
V(Φ*Φ)= {μ}^{2}(Φ*Φ)+λ{Φ*Φ)^{2}

One thing more about my notation, everywhere you see A,B or the partial derivative, it is DASHED. I don't know how to make it...

then to get the above lagrangian I expanded my initial lagrangian over the field Φ around the value:
Φ(x)= ( 0 [f+p(x)]/√2 ) where f2= -μ2/λ >0

then you get the above baby monster...


Now my question
When you define the new fields Z,W,A:
W^{\pm}_{μ}=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(Α^{1}_{μ}\mp i Α^{1}_{μ})
Ζ_{μ}=(g^{2}+g'^{2})^{-\frac{1}{2}}(-gΑ^{3}_{μ}+ g' B_{μ})
A'_{μ}=(g^{2}+g'^{2})^{-\frac{1}{2}}(g B_{μ}+ g' A^{3}_{μ})

I see that W is written in respect to the initially defined gauge field of the SU(2) so it means it could couple the isospin doublets (i hope my term was correct) but it cannot couple charges (because it does not have the Uy(1) gauge field B in it). Something that is wrong because W is a charged particle and it COULD interact electromagneticallly...

On the other hand, Z seems to be able to interact electromagnetically because it has the B field...

And finally the Photon A' can couple the isospin doublets? Coz it has the 3rd field A3μ

What am I thinking wrong of it about?
 
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If you write out the gauge kinetic term for the original SU(2) field in terms of the W, Z, and A' fields, I think you will find that there are terms that couple the W to the A': I believe there will be a WWA' term and a WWA'A' term. The A' field is the photon field; thus the W couples to photons, i.e. it is charged under electromagnetism. However, you shouldn't find any ZZA' or ZZA'A' coupling. Thus the Z doesn't couple to the photon; i.e., it is electrically neutral.

I'm not sure what you mean here:

And finally the Photon A' can couple the isospin doublets? Coz it has the 3rd field A3μ

If you want to see how the A' couples to matter, write out the original term coupling the gauge fields to matter in terms of the W, Z, and A' fields. You should be able to obtain a formula for the electrical charge of a particle in terms of its hypercharge (charge under U(1), usually written Y) and its weak isospin (its value for the third component of SU(2), usually written T_3).
 
what I meant with the question was that I wrote the field of the photon A' as Bμ and Aμ sum...
Some lines above I determined B,A fields as the one working on U(1) hypercharge and SU(2) isospin respectively.

So I meant exactly the same thing I meant for Ws and Zs. That for the photon field A' I have contribution from the SU(2) isospin field A3μ which couples the isospin doublets... this seemed strange...
 
Yes, since the photon field is in part composed of A^3 the photon will couple to all weak isospin doublets. And since this part of the coupling is proportional to T_3, the coupling of the photon to the "up" component of the doublet will differ from the coupling to the "down" component of the doublet. This is why e.g. the up quark and down quark have an electric charge that differ by one, and similarly the electron and the electron neutrino have a charge that differ by one.

The idea in electroweak symmetry breaking is that SU(2)_isospin x U(1)_hypercharge breaks down to U(1)_electromagnetism, but U(1)_electromagnetism is not the same as U(1)_hypercharge. As you've seen, U(1)_electromagnetism is generated by a linear combination of the hypercharge generator and the third isospin generator. Thus the photon couples to anything that is charged under either SU(2)_isospin or U(1)_hypercharge [unless these couplings end up cancelling out, as with the neutrino].
 
^_^ Thank you for the help, I think I get it now...
 

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