WardTakahashi identity

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See also: Isserlis' theorem In quantum field theory, a WardTakahashi identity is an identity between correlation functions that follows from the global or gauged symmetries of the theory, and which remains valid after renormalization. The WardTakahashi identity of quantum electrodynamics was originally used by John Clive Ward and Yasushi Takahashi to relate the wave function renormalization of the electron to its vertex renormalization factor F1(0), guaranteeing the cancellation of the ultraviolet divergence to all orders of perturbation theory. Later uses include the extension of the proof of Goldstone's theorem to all orders of perturbation theory. The WardTakahashi identity is a quantum version of the classical Noether's theorem, and any symmetries in a quantum field theory can lead to an equation of motion for correlation functions. This generalized sense should be distinguished when reading literature, such as Michael Peskin and Daniel Schroeder's textbook, An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory (see references), from the original sense of the Ward identity.

Contents
1 The WardTakahashi identity 2 The Ward identity 3 Derivation in the path integral formulation 4 References

The WardTakahashi identity

The WardTakahashi identity applies to correlation functions in momentum space, which do not necessarily have all their external momenta onshell. Let

be a QED correlation function involving an external photon with momentum k (where is the polarization vector of the photon), n initialstate electrons with momenta , and n final-state electrons with momenta . Also define to be the simpler amplitude that is obtained by removing the photon with momentum k from our original amplitude. Then the WardTakahashi identity reads

where e is the charge of the electron. Note that if has its external electrons on-shell, then the amplitudes on the right-hand side of this identity each have one external particle off-shell, and therefore they do not contribute to S-matrix elements.

The Ward identity

The Ward identity is a specialization of the WardTakahashi identity to S-matrix elements, which describe physically possible scattering processes and thus have all their external particles on-shell. Again let be the amplitude for some QED process involving an external photon with momentum , where is the polarization vector of the photon. Then the Ward identity reads:

Physically, what this identity means is the longitudinal polarization of the photon which arises in the gauge is unphysical and disappears from the S-matrix. Examples of its use include constraining the tensor structure of the vacuum polarization and of the electron vertex function in QED.

Derivation in the path integral formulation

See also: Path integral formulation In the path integral formulation, the WardTakahashi identities are a reflection of the invariance of the functional measure under a gauge transformation. More precisely, if represents a gauge transformation by (and this applies even in the case where the physical symmetry of the system is global or even nonexistent; we are only worried about the invariance of the functional measure here), then

expresses the invariance of the functional measure where S is the action and corresponds to a global symmetry of the theory, then,

is a functional of the fields. If the gauge transformation

for some "current" J (as a functional of the fields ) after integrating by parts and assuming that the surface terms can be neglected. Then, the WardTakahashi identities become

This is the QFT analog of the Noether continuity equation If the gauge transformation corresponds to an actual gauge symmetry,

where S is the gauge invariant action and Sgf is a non-gauge-invariant gauge fixing term. But note that even if there is not a global symmetry (i.e. the symmetry is broken), we still have a WardTakahashi identity describing the rate of charge nonconservation. If the functional measure is not gauge invariant, but happens to satisfy

where is some functional of the fields , we have an anomalous WardTakahashi identity. This happens when we have a chiral anomaly, for example.

References
Y. Takahashi, Nuovo Cimento, Ser 10, 6 (1957) 370. J.C. Ward, Phys. Rev. 78, (1950) 182 (http://prola.aps.org/abstract/PR/v78/i2/p182_1) For a pedagogical derivation, see section 7.4 of Michael E. Peskin and Daniel V. Schroeder (1995). An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory. Westview Press. ISBN 0-201-50397-2. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WardTakahashi_identity&oldid=560892124" Categories: Quantum field theory Quantum electrodynamics This page was last modified on 21 June 2013 at 12:28. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.