Solution To Problem 4.5, Mandl-Shaw
Solution To Problem 4.5, Mandl-Shaw
Solution To Problem 4.5, Mandl-Shaw
5, Mandl-Shaw
I guess I should have warned you that you would need to read about γ5 in the Appen-
dices. Hopefully everyone discovered the appropriate material.
In solving this problem, the first important thing to note is that since ψ † → ψ † e−iαγ5 ,
then
by virtue of the fact that γ5 anticommutes with γ 0 and by using the power expansion
definition of e−iαγ5 . Then it is immediately clear that
by virtue of the fact that each of the γ µ ’s anticommutes with γ5 and again using the
power series expansion of eiαγ5 . Of course, it is important that α be a constant for this
manipulation.
So now, what is the correspond Noether current in the m = 0 case? For this, we use
the infintesimal form of the transformation which leads to δψβ = iα[γ5 ψ]β (where β is a
Dirac index) and the general form
∂L
fν = δφr (4)
∂φr,ν
for the Noether current, combined with the fact that only derivatives of ψ appear in m = 0
version of
L = ψiγ µ ∂µ ψ = [ψiγ µ ]λ ∂µ ψλ , (5)
where the 2nd form exposes the Dirac index sum over λ, results in a current of
∂L
fν = δψβ
∂ψβ,ν
= [ψiγ µ ]λ δµν δλβ iα[γ5 ψ]β
= −α[ψγ ν ]β [γ5 ψ]β
= −αψγ ν γ5 ψ . (6)
For convenience, the factor of −α is dropped in defining the conventional form of this
current.
Turning to the equations of motion, we have
1
i/
∂ψL = (i/
∂ − i/
∂γ5 )ψ
2
1
= (i/ ∂ + γ5 i/
∂)ψ
2
1
= (1 + γ5 )i/ ∂ψ
2
1
= (1 + γ5 )mψ = mψR . (7)
2
In the above procedure we used the fact that i/
∂ anticommutes with γ5 since the former
contains a sum over single γ µ matrices, all of which anticommute with γ5 . Similarly one
finds
i/
∂ψR = mψL . (8)
Thus, the equations of motion of the Dirac field clearly couple ψL and ψR when m 6= 0
and it is only for m = 0 that they can decouple and we have i/
∂ψL,R = 0.
As far as showing that ψL contains only negative helicity fermions, we must compute
Sp~ c† |0i and Sp~ d† |0i. I will focus on the second, as in the notes for the general ψ case. We
must begin with the correct form of the spin operator given the starting Lagrangian. This
is simply obtained following the same procedure as in the notes except that everywhere
there is a subscript L. Thus, we arrive at
Z
1
Sp~ = d3~x : ψL† (x)Σp~ ψL (x) : , (9)
2
where I have already made the same simplification as in the notes where instead of working
~ op · P~ op , I have already replaced P op by the eigenvalue it will eventually acquire, so
out S
~ · p.
that Σp~ = Σ b So, the first thing to ask is what does the expansion of ψL look like. It
Now, in the m = 0 limit, the 12 (1 − γ5 ) simply means that out of the sum over s, we
only keep the s = 2 states for us for which γ5 u2 = −u2 and the s = 1 states for which
γ5 v1 = −v1 . Instead of writing in terms of s = 1 or 2, I will use the notation s = 2 = L
and s = 1 = R and we will then have
X 1 h i
ψL (x) = q uL (~k)e−ik·x cL (~k) + vR (~k)e+ik·x d†R (~k) . (11)
~k 2V E~k
So, the only operators in the theory for the Lagrangian form employed are cL , c†L and
dR , d†R . So, suppose we make a single particle state using the antiparticle d†R . We then
compute