4.

1 v1

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Physics 615 Oct. 26, 2006 Homework Solutions #7

1 [20 pts] Do problem 4.3 from Peskin and Schroeder. This is one of the simpler examples of a model with spontaneous symmetry breaking. Solution 1 (a) We are going to explore the linear sigma model, based on N real scalar elds1 i (x) and their conjugate momenta i , with the Hamiltonian H= with d3 x 1 2 (i )2 +
i

1 2

(i )2 + V (2 ) ,
i

1 V (2 ) = m2 2 + (2 )2 . 2 4 2 i 2 Note that here means i ( ) and not, of course, the i = 2 component of . This Hamiltonian (and the associated Lagrangian) are clearly invariant under global rotations of i in the N dimensional space. When m2 > 0 and 0, the Hamiltonian reduces to a sum of N independent pieces each depending on just one of the N real scalar elds i , and each piece is simply the free Klein-Gordon Hamiltonian. Thus the interaction picture elds can be expanded as usual in terms of N sets of creation and i annihilation operators ai p and ap , with the dierent elds commuting with each other, j ai = (2 )3 ij 3 (p p ). p , ap Thus the contractions of i with j give 0 unless i = j , in which case they give the usual free Klein Gordon propagator DF (xy ) = I (x)I (y ) = 0| T I (x)I (y ) |0 =
1

d4 p 1 eip(xy) . 4 2 2 (2 ) p m + i

I will use the books notation with a superscript i, i , though I dont understand why they did not use a subscript.

615: Homework Sol. #7

Last Latexed: October 30, 2006 at 14:17

The interaction hamiltonian is the term in V , so each factor brought down from the exponential gives i 4 d4 z
ab

a (x)a (x)b (x)b (x).

When this factor is contracted with 4 other elds i j k , (or external states |p, j ), there are 4! ways these other elds can choose among the four in the interaction vertex. The rst, i , has 4 equivalent choices. The second, j can then either choose the one with the same index in the interaction, giving a ij , or it has two choices for selecting one of the two with the other index. In the rst case the third eld, k has two choices, and then can couple only to the one remaining, giving 8 ij k , while in the second case, the k can couple to the one eld with index paired to the i or to the one paired with j , giving 8 ik j + 8 i jk . All together, therefore, the vertex is
k l

= 2i( ij k + ik j + i jk )
i j

The dierential cross section for two equal mass particles is d d with =
CM

|M|2 , 2 64 2 Ecm

M = 2( ij k + ik j + i jk ).

For i = k = 1, j = = 2, the factor in parentheses is just 1, which is also the case for i = j = 1, k = = 2, while for i = j = k = = 1, the parenthesis gives 3, so d d d d (1 + 2 1 + 2) =
CM

d d

(1 + 1 2 + 2) =
CM

2 , 2 16 2 Ecm

9 2 (1 + 1 1 + 1) = . 2 16 2 Ecm CM

615: Homework Sol. #7

Last Latexed: October 30, 2006 at 14:17

(b) The situation is changed if the mass term in the potential is negative, 1 V (2 ) = 2 2 + (2 )2 . 2 4

(v)

Then expanding about i = 0 is an unstable equilibrium, and a lower energy state would be one for which we have quantum uctuations about a conguration with V minimized, that is, with 2 = v 2 := 2 /. Of course the values of with this square are the values on a hypersphere2 We choose to expand about the point = (0, 0, . . . , 0, v ) and dene (x) = N (x) v,

j (x) = j

for j = 1, ..., N 1.

In terms of these reexpressed elds, the Lagrangian becomes L = with V (, { j }) = =

2 1 2 (v + )2 + 2 + (v + )2 + 2 2 4 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 v v 2 2 2 4 3 2 2 3 + v + v + v + v 3 + 4 4 2 4 2 2 + v + v 2 + 2 2 + ( 2 )2 2 2 4 3 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 4 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 4 + 3 + 4 + + + 4 2 4 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 2 + ( 2 )2 2 2 4

1 1 N 1 + dx j j V (, { j }) 2 2 j =1
3

(1)

(2)

v=/

(3)

2 I am using sphere as mathematicians do, for the locus of points with r 2 = R2 , which in freshman physics we call a spherical shell. The locus of points with r 2 R2 is called a ball.

615: Homework Sol. #7

Last Latexed: October 30, 2006 at 14:17

2 2 4 2 2 ( ) + + 4 2 42 + + 3 + 2 2 4 . 4

(4)

I have written these in terms on the power of elds. The rst line contains the four-particle interactions, while the second line contains three particle interactions. The next line is the mass term for the , but notice that the mass associated with the elds j , that is, the coecient of 2 , vanishes. Also notice that the term linear in vanishes, as it must, because we chose v as the minimum of V . Finally there is a shift in the vacuum energy density, which is now negative (relative to the energy of the state with j = 0). Thus if we now do perturbation theory by expanding around interaction picture elds evolving under the terms quadratic in and j , treating the cubic and quartic terms as the interaction hamiltonian, we have a theory with one scalar eld of mass 2 , N 1 massless elds j , and interaction terms k l

j i 2i( ij k + ik j + i jk )

i
2i ij

j i

j
6i 6i

2i ij

with propagators : p2 and :

11 00
p2 i 2 2 + i

i +i

(c) There are four diagrams that contribute to the scattering amplitude iM i (p1 ) + j (p2 ) k (p3 ) + (p4 ) = iM1 + iM2 + iM3 + iM4 , where

615: Homework Sol. #7

k l

Last Latexed: October 30, 2006 at 14:17

iM1 = 4i2
i
k

ij k ij k 2 = 4 i (p 1 + p 2 )2 2 2 2 2 s

j
l

iM2 = 4i2
i k j l

ik j ik j 2 = 4 i (p 3 p 1 )2 2 2 2 2 t

iM3 = i2
i j

i jk i jk 2 = 4 i (p 4 p 1 )2 2 2 2 2 u

l
iM4 = 2i( ij k + ik j + i jk )

where s, t and u are the Mandelstam variables s = (p1 + p2 )2 , t = (p3 p1 )2 , u = (p4 p1 )2 , which satisfy s + t + u = i m2 i as a consequence of momentum conservation. Thus in the total scattering amplitude, the term proportional to ij k is 2i ij k 1 2 2 2 2 s = +2i ij k 2 2 s . s

Similiarly for the t and u terms, so all together iM = 2i s ij k t ik j u i jk . + + 2 2 s 2 2 t 2 2 u

If s, t and u are all << 2 , this can be expanded in powers of s, t and u, iM = i s t u s ij k (1 + 2 ) + t ik j (1 + 2 ) + u i jk (1 + 2 ) . 2 2 2 2

615: Homework Sol. #7

Last Latexed: October 30, 2006 at 14:17

At threshold, s = t = u = 0, this vanishes. Furthermore, if i = j = k = , all delta functions are 1, and we have s2 t2 u2 s + t + u + + + 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 = i 4 (s2 + t2 + u2 ), 2 which vanishes up to order p4 . Notice if N = 2, then i = j = k = they all range only from 1 to N 1. iM = i

= 1, as

(d) If a term V = aN (with N an index, not a power) is added to the Hamiltonian, it breaks the O(N ) symmetry of the Hamiltonian, but that has already been broken by the spontaneous symmetry breaking. However it also shifts the point in {j } space which is the minimum of the potential, from the point (0, . . . , 0, v0), with v0 = / , to a new point (0, . . . , 0, v ), with v = v0 + b. As V is now 1 2 2 4 V (N , j ) = 2 ( 2 + N ) + ( 2 )2 + 2 2 N + N aN , 2 4 the new minimum is at the point where V 1 V 3 = 0 = a 2 N + N , = 0 = j 2 + 2 + N 2 , N j 2 2 3 so 0 = a v + v . If we treat a as a small parameter, a 3 / , b will also be small and we can expand v = / + b to rst order in b, which gives 0 = a 2 b +32 b, or b = a/22 . Again, we set = N v . The expression (2) is still correct except for missing the a(v + ) term, but in substatuting its value for v , we pick up 2 2 additional terms. Using v = a/2 , v = a/ , v 3 = 3a/2, and v 4 = 2a/3/2 , we nd a 3a 2 a 3a a V = a + + + + 2 2 2 2 2 a 3 a 2 a + 2 + + 2 2 2 2 2 3a 2 a 2 a a a + + 2 3 + 2 2 . = + 2 2 2 2

615: Homework Sol. #7

Last Latexed: October 30, 2006 at 14:17

We see that the added term in V has produced small shifts in the mass, the coupling constant, the 3 coupling constant, and shifted the vacuum energy density further downward. 3a a 3a 2 2 m 2 + g 6 + 2 . , g 2 + 2 , But by far the most important eect is that the particles now have mass a m2 . = The scattering amplitude at threshold, s = 4m2 = 4a /, t = u = 0 now has contributions
2 M1 = g

ij k , 2 m2 4m

2 M2 = g

ik j , m2

2 M3 = g

i jk , m2

M4 = 2( ij k + ik j + i jk ). so together we have at threshold M = 42 + 4a3/2 1 2 ij k 22 + 3a / 4a / 42 + 4a3/2 1 2 ik j + i jk + 22 + 3a / 3/2 a 3 ij k ik j i jk ,

which is now non-vanishing and proportional to a.

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