Bradley j. nartowt; quantum field theory I; assignment 9; dr.

matchev; Friday, November 02, 2012

127 - pr 02 - decay of a scalar particle: Consider the following Lagrangian involving two real scalar fields,
*
= and
*
= ,

2 2 2 2 2 2 2
1 1 1 1 1
0 2 2 2 2 2
( ) ( ) ; 2 ( ) ; ; M m

= + = = = L

(1.1)

The last term is an interaction that allows a
*
= particle to decay into two
*
= , provided that 2 M m > .
Assuming that this condition is met, calculate the lifetime of the to lowest order in .

Preliminaries: the Feynman rules immediately implied by this Lagrangian (1.1) are,

4 4
(1) [free propagator] ( ); (2) [vertex] ;
F
D x x d x d x = = = = =

i i (1.2)

Zeroth order: the zeroth order is the interaction of the momenta (wheras the first order is the interaction of the
fields). The Feynman diagram is just the schematic of a relativistic collisions kinematics under time-reversal,
(1.3)

From these kinematics (1.3), we see that,

3
3 3
1 2
1 2 1 2 3 3 3
1 2
1 1
{ } 2 ; ( , ) ( , ); ;
(2 ) 2 (2 ) 2 2
f
A f A f
f f
d p
d p d p
m p M m p p M E E
E E E
+

= = + + =


0 p p (1.4)

The decay rate is 0, to this 0
th
order. So we go to the next order up.

First order: the next order up is the interaction of the fields (whereas the 0
th
order is the interaction of the
momenta). These kinematics imply the decay rate to 0
th
order, given by,

2
2
2 1 1
3
2
4 (4)
1
2 3
3 3
2 / ( 2 )
4 3 1 2 1
1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 3 4 (2 )
1 2 1
1
( { }) (2 ) ( )
(2 ) 2
1
( 2 ) (2 ) ( ) ( ) ( )
(2 ) 2 2
A
f
A f A f m
f f
M
M
E E p
d p
d m p p p
E
d p d p
M m E E M E E M d p
E E p

+
| |
=
|
|
\

= + + = +



p p
M
M
M
(1.5)

We need to get the amplitude for this decay, ( { })
A f
m p M . Computing the Hamiltonian from the Lagrangian
(1.1) with the indicated canonical momenta

and

, we get,

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
1 1 1 1 1 1
int 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 3 2 3
int int int
( ) ( ) ;
( ) ;
i i free
M m
H d x d x

= = + + + + + + +
= = =

H L H H
H H

(1.6)

Fields interacting is distinct from the diagram (1.3) by the indicated (horizontal) time
1
-direction,

deg deg
(2! )( ) 2 ; 2! [indistinguishability degeneracy] = = = = i i i M (1.7)

Putting (1.7) into the decay rate (1.5), and integrating over phase space,

1
Any kinematics/0
th
order treatment of decay is identical to a collision if the direction of time is reversed. The distinction comes in
first order where sensitivity to time-reversal is equivalent to the onset of particle/antiparticle pairs.

2 2 2
1 3
1 2 1 1 2 1 2 2
2 1 1 1 2 1
2
1
1 2 1 2
2 1
2 / (2 ) 2 / (2 )
( ) ( )
4 (2 ) 4(2 )
( )
8
M M p
E E M d p E E M dp d
E E p p E E
p
E E M dp d
M E E

= + = +

= +

(1.8)

By the kinematics (1.4), we have
2 2 2 2
1 1 1 2
( )
M
p E m m = = and we realize
1 2 2
M
E E = = , which puts the
decay-rate (1.8) entirely in terms of species masses. Notice the
1 2
( ) E E M + is a redundancy of the
kinematics (1.4) we already said were true, so we get,
1
( ) 4 dp d =

, yielding,

2
2
2 2 2 3
1 2 1 3
2 2
2 2 2 2
1
2 1 4
2 4
( ) 2 / (2 )
1
4 ( )
4(2 ) 2 2 2
( ) ( ) ( )
M
M
m M M
m M p
M M
E E M
m

= = = =


(1.9)


127 - pr 03 - linear sigma model: The interactions of pions at low energy can be described by a
phenomenological model called the linear sigma model. Essentially: this model consists of N real scalar
fields coupled by a
4
-interaction that is symmetric under rotations of the N fields. More specifically: let ( )
i
x ,
1,..., i N = be a set of N fields governed by the Hamiltonian,

3 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2
1 1 1 1
2 2 2 4
1
( ( ) ( ) ( )) ; ( ) ; ( ) ( ) (( ) ) ;
i N
i i i i i i i i i
i
H d x V d x V m
=
=
= = + + = = +

H (1.1)

Note
2
( ) V is a function symmetric under rotations of . For (classical) field-configurations of ( )
i
x that
are constant in space and time, this term gives the only contribution to H = H
int
; hence, V is the field potential
energy.

Sidenote: What does this Hamiltonian have to do with the strong interactions? There are two types of light
quarks: , u d . These quarks have identical strong interactions, but different masses. If these quarks are
massless, the Hamiltonian of the strong interactions is invariant to unitary transformations of the 2-component
object ( , ) u d ; i.e.,
/ 2
( , ) ( , ) ( , ) u d u d e u d

=
i
. This transformation is called an isospin rotation. If, in
addition, the strong interactions are described by a vector gluon field, as is true in QCD, the strong
interaction Hamiltonian is invariant to the isospin rotations done separately on the left-handed and right-
handed components of the quark fields. Thus, the complete symmetry of QCD with two massless quarks is
(2) (2) SU SU . It happens that SO(4), the group of rotations in 4 dimensions, is isomorphic to (2) (2) SU SU
, so for N = 4, the linear sigma model has the same symmetry group as the strong interactions.

(a) analyze the linear sigma model for
2
0 m > by noticing that, for 0 = , the Hamiltonian given above is
exactly N copies of the Klein-Gordon Hamiltonian.

Putting 0 = into (1.1), we have that
2 2 2
1
2
( ) ( )
i i
V m = , so we get,

2 2 2 2 3 3
1 1 1
2 2 2
1 1 1
( ( ) ( ) ( ) ) ( )
i N i N i N
i i i i i
KG KG
i i i
H m d x d x H
= = =
= = =
= + + = =


H (1.2)

We can then calculate scattering amplitudes as perturbation series in the parameter . Show that the
propagator is,
[ ] ( ) ( ) ( ); Klein-Gordon propagator for mass m
i j ij
F F
x x D x x D = =

(1.3)

Using the reasoning
0 int
[propagators] [interactions] [external lines] [vertices] = + = + = + H H H , and
constructing the 0 = diagrams, we have no vertices, which topologically-mandates lines only, as,

2 2
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( );
( )
i j F i j
ij
x x D x x p p
p p m
= = =
+
i
i

(1.4)

In which we have,

3

3
( )[ ( ), ( )]
( ) ( ) ( ) ; ( ) ;
(2 ) 2 ( )[ ( ), ( )]
p x
i j
F F i j i i i
ij ij
i j
i
a e x x x x
d p
D D x x x x
E x x x x

+
+ +
+

= = = =
+

i
p

(1.5)

Zero interactions means zero decay, and thus zero particle-transmutations: However, since there is no
interactions, we have, from [4.86] in the text, 0 0
decay
d = = = M M , and thus the propagator (1.4) is
diagonal,
F ij F
ij ij
D D = (summation not implied), and corresponds to mass m
i
,
( ) ( ) ( )
i
i j ij F
m
x x D x x =

(1.6)

Show that there is one type of vertex given by,
iM 2 ( )
ij k i jk ik j
= + + i

(1.7)

Sticks: All possible vertices are those which can be constructed from two propagators (sticks). We could then
draw the following diagrams:
(1.8)

However, only the we first saw in (1.7) satisfies the constraint of connected, amputated. It can be shown
that connected and amputated diagrams cancel out in the expectation of any operator (c.f., Peskin and Schroeder
chapter 7.2; a proper proof is for now deferred).

That is: the vertex between two
1
' s and two
2
' s has the value iM 2 = i , and that between four
1
' s
has the value iM 6 = i .

Compute, to leading order in , the differential cross section / d d in the center-of-mass frame for the
scattering processes
1 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1
; ; as functions of the center-of-mass energy.

The differential cross section for amplitude |
out i j i j
in

p p k k is given by,

2
2
4 (4)
3
3 2
1
( , , ) (2 ) ( ) ( , )
[4.84]
(2 ) 2 4 (2 ) 4 4
i n
i i j i j i j i j i i i i
i i i j i j CM i j i j
p p p p k k p p k k p d p
d d
E E E E E E

=

=

+
= =


p
v v v v
M
M
(1.9)

Diagram amplitude is the labour-intensive part: In which: the amplitude of the diagram (1.7) has a
somewhat-labour-intensive evaluation,
iM
2 2 4 4
4
| ( [( ) ] ( ) ) | | ( ) | ; , 1, 2;
out i j i j out i j i j
in in
T x d x T d x

= =

p p k k p p k k

(1.10)

Wicks theorem allows us to write (1.10) as a cumbersome but straightforward permanent (for bosons),

4
4
4
, ( )
1
3 3 3 1 2 7 8
| ( ) |
14 4
6
2 7 8
perm
1 2 7 8
12| [ ]
6 6
| 78
1 2 7 8
5 5 5 5
3
5 3
6
4
4
6
4
out i j i j
in
i i
S i
D D D D
T d x
D D D D
D a
D D D D
T
D D D D

=
+

=
=

p p k k
iM

(1.11)

We use Mathematica to compute the permanent
2
, and put the output in monospaced font so that it is easy to
read. Let Dij be the contracted propagator. Then, we get,
= iM
D1 D2 D7 D8 + D1 D2 D7 D8 + D1 D2 D7 D8 +
D1 D2 D7 D8 + D1 D2 D7 D8 + D1 D2 D7 D8 +
D1 D2 D7 D8 + D1 D2 D7 D8 + D1 D2 D7 D8
5 5 5
5 5 5
5 5 5 +
D
6 6 6
6 6 6
6 6 6
6 1 D2
4 4 4
4 4 4
4 4 4
4 D7 D8 + D1 5 5
3 3 3
3 3 3
3 3
D2
3
3 3 D76 D8 + D1 D2 D7 D8 +
D1 D2 D7 D8 + D1 D2 D7 D8 + D1 D2 D7 D8 +
D1 D2 D7 D8 + D1 D2 D7 D8 + D1 D2 D7 D8 +
D1 D2 D7 D8 + D1 D2 D7 D
4 4
4 4
6
6 6 6
6 6 6
6 6 8 + D1 D2
4
4 4

4
4 4 D74
3
3 3 3
D86
5
5 5 5
5 5 5
5 +
D1
3 3 3
3 3 3
3
5 5
5 D2 D74













D8 + D1 D2 D7 D8 + D1 D2 D 4 4 3 3 6 6 6 D 5 5 7 8
(1.12)

To make sense of the jungle of terms in (1.12), one considers the physical picture: there are four possible
scatterings: (1) , (2) , (3) , and (4) ; diagrammatically, these appear as,
(1.13)

Correspondingly, the terms that contribute to each, using set-notation to fix what 1 and 2 are coupled with and
leaving 7 and 8 to freely vary, are,
( ) ( ) (1 ) (2 ) (14 3 5 26 ) ( )
D1 D2 6 3 D7 5 D84
D1 D2 4 3 D7 5 D86
D1 D2 3 4 D7 6 D85
D1 D2 5 4 D7 6 D83

( ) ( ) (1 ) (2 (1 ) 2 5 3 6 ) 4 (
D1 D2 6 5 D7 3 D84
D1 D2 4 5 D7 3 D86
D1 D2 5 6 D7 4 D83
D1 D2 3 6 D7 4 D85
( ) ( ) (1 ) (2 ) (15 3 6 24 ) ( )
D1 D2 4 3 D7 6 D85
D1 D2 5 3 D7 6 D84
D1 D2 3 5 D7 4 D86
D1 D2 6 5 D7 4 D83

( ) ( ) (1 ) (2 ) (15 3 4 26 ) ( )
D1 D2 6 3 D7 4 D85
D1 D2 5 3 D7 4 D86
D1 D2 3 5 D7 6 D84
D1 D2 4 5 D7 6 D83
( ) ( ) (1 ) (2 ) (14 6 5 23 ) ( )
D1 D2 4 6 D7 5 D83
D1 D2 3 6 D7 5 D84
D1 D2 6 4 D7 3 D85
D1 D2 5 4 D7 3 D86

( ) ( ) (1 ) (2 ) (16 4 5 23 ) ( )
D1 D2 6 4 D7 5 D83
D1 D2 3 4 D7 5 D86
D1 D2 4 6 D7 3 D85
D1 D2 5 6 D7 3 D84
ALL
TWENTY
FOUR
OF
THEM...

Moreover: we notice that each of these propagators are diagonal, as we proved in (1.6), which means,

2
Using: Permanent[m_List] := With[{v = Array[x, Length[m]]},Coefficient[Times @@ (m.v), Times @@ v]], found at
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Permanent.html.
iM = =
1
4
1
4
1
4
1
4
(1) (8 )
(1) 2
(2) (8 ) (2) 2
2 ( )
(3) 2 (3) (8 )
(4) 6
(4) (24 )
ij k i jk ik j

= = + +

i
i
i i
i
i i
i
i





(1.14)

Thus, the differential cross section (1.9), using (1.14) is,

2 2
2 2 2 2
2 2
2 2 2 2
2 2
2 2 2 2
2 2
2 2 2 2
2
16 16
2 2 2
16 16
2 2
2
16 16
2
16 16
1
1
( , , ) ( , , )
4 1 (2 ) 4 4 (2 ) 4
1
3 9
CM CM
CM CM
CM CM
CM CM
E E
E E i i j i j CM k i j
CM CM CM i j i j CM
E E
E E
p p p p E p p p p
d
d E E E E E E

= = = =

p
v v
M M

(1.15)

(b) Now consider the case
2
0 m < , In this case, V has a local maximum, rather than a minimum, at 0
i
= .
Since V is a potential energy: this implies that the ground state of the theory is not near 0
i
= but rather is
obtained by shifting
i
toward the minimum of V. By rotational invariance, we can consider this shift to be in
the N
th
direction. Write, then,
( ) ( ); 1,..., 1; ( ) ( );
i i N
x x i N x v x = = = + (1.16)

where v is a constant chosen to minimize V. (The notation suggests a pion field and should not be confused with
a canonical momentum.) Show that, in these new coordinates (and substituting for v its expression in terms of
and ) we have a theory of a massive field and N massless pion
i
fields interacting through cubic and
quartic potential energy terms which all become small as 0 .

The Lagrangian (theory) of a massive field and N massless pion fields having cubic and quartic interactions
would appear as,

( )
2 2 2 3 4
1 1
2 2
1
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ; [will eventually be linear-sigma term]
N
i i i i i i
i
m

=
= + + + =

L (1.17)

Coordinate change: in order to effect (1.16), we need to Legendre transform into ,

-coordinates, so from
the Hamiltonian density (1.1) we get the Lagrangian density,

( )
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1
2 2 4
1 1 1
1
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
1
1 1 1
( ) ( ) ( ) (( ) ) ( ) ( ) (( ) )
2 2 4
1 1 1 1 1 1
[ ( ) ( ) (( ) ) ] ( ) ( ) (( ) )
2 2 4 2 2 4
N N N
i i i i i i i i i
i i i
N
i i i N N N
i
m m
m m




= = =

=
= = + + =
= +

L H

(1.18)

Then, using the change of coordinates (1.16), we see this (1.18) becomes,

4
4
1
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
1
1
2 2 2 4
int,
1
1
2 2 2 2
1
( ) ( ) (
1 1 1 1 1 1
[ ( ) ( ) (( ) ) ] ( ( )) ( ) (( ) )
2 2 4 2 2 4
1 1 1
[ ( , ) ( )] (0 ) ( ) ( )
2 2 4
1 1
( , ) ( ) ( 2
2
)
2
N
i i i
i
N
i i i
free
i
N
i i
i
x x x m v m v v
m v v
m v v

=
= + + + +
= + + + +
= + + +

L
L L
L L
( )
4 4 3 3 2 2
1
) 4 4 6 ;
4
v v v v + + + +
(1.19)

Minimizing the potential energy/equilibrium: meanwhile, the coordinate-change (1.16) gains meaning when
we write v as a parameter the potential-functionale is extremized with respect to. Putting the vector
i i
e
(summation is implied) into the functionale
2
[( ) ]
i i
V V e = , we get,

2 2 2
1 1
2 4
2
1 1
2 2
[( ) ] ( )
( ) ( ) ( )
j
i i i i i i
i i
i i i i i i
V
ij ij ij ij
i i i
V e m
m

= +
= + + +


(1.20)

On setting this derivative (1.20) to zero, we find the minimum of V with respect to the jth field,

2 2 2
0 2 ( ) /
j
j j i i i i V
i i
m m v

= = = =

(1.21)

Putting (1.21) into (1.19) as an expression of equilibrium, and noting
2 2
1
2
m v and
4
1
4
v are constant shifts
that contain no physics, we get,

( )
3 2
4 3/ 2
3
4 4
3
1
2 2 2 4 3 2
1
2 2 2 3 4
1 1
2 4
2 2 2
1
1 1
2
3 4
1
1 1
4
1 1 1
( , ) [shift] ( ) ( 2 ) 4 4 6
2 2 4
( ) 2 (2 )
( ) 2
( , ) ( , )
(2 )
N
i i
m m m m
i
m
N N
i i i i
m
i i
m
m m
m
m

=

= =
= = + + + +
= + +
| |
|
= + =
|
+ +
\

L L L
L L L
3
2 2 2
1
2
3 4
1
4
( ) 2
2

| | +
|
+
|
+
\
i i
(1.22)

This (1.22) is of the form of (1.17) if we identify the mass of the -field under interaction to be
2 2 2 2
1
2
2 2 m m

= . We also notice that
2 2
1
2
0 ( ) 0
i
m m

= . That is, we have neglected the
pion-mass for simplicity (note that
2
139.6
MeV
c
m

= ; the pion is the lightest meson).

Construct the Feynman rules by assigning values to the propagators and vertices,
===== ===== ( )
F
m m
D x x

=
=

= (1.23)

0

i j F
m
D

=
=

= ; ; (1.24)

Using (1.14), and Mathematica to compute all the permanents, we have interactions from the
2
and
2
-
dimensional terms in (1.22),

2 2
4 4
0 int 1 1 0 1 1
4 4
1 2
4
4
| ( ) | | ( ( ) ) | 1| | 56
(1 ) (5 ) (6 )
(1 ) (5 ) (6 ) ( )
23
3 3 3 2
(1 ) (5 )
2 2 2
4 4 (6 )
i j i i i j
f f
i
ii i j i j ij
f
T V d x T d x
p p p d x



+

+
= = =
= = =

p p p p i p p i
i i i

(1.25)
= contributions from all =
3 3
; [permutation gro 3! up] 6 S S = = = i i i (1.26)


For the vertices in (1.24), we have bosons, and we get,

4 4 4
1 1
0 1 1 int 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 4
1 1
4 4
| ( ) | | ( ( ) ) | | ( ) |
1 2 7 8
1 2 7 8
12
3 3 3
| [ ] | 78 2 ( )
1 2 7 8
1 2
6
6 6 6 6
5
5 5
7
4 4 4 4
4 3
5
8
5
3
k i j k i j k i j
ij k i jk ik j
T V d x T d x T
D D D D
D D D D
T
D D D D
D D D D

+
= = =
= = = + +

p p p p p p p p i p p p p
i i i

(1.27)
= using (1.25) with a multiplicity of 8 = 2
ij
i (1.28)

= contributions from all =
4
1 1 1
4 4 4 4
; [permutatio 24 4! n group] S S = = = i i i (1.29)






appendix I position and momentum space Feynman rules (respectively)

(1) for each propagator, ( )
F
x x D x x
(2) for each vertex ( )
4
( ) d z =

i . Corollary: i is the amplitude for emission and/or absorption of

particles at a vertex, and ( )
4
d z

is the sum of all points where the process can occur.

(3) for each external point: x = 1
(4) divide by the symmetry factor.


(1) for each propagator,
2 2 1
( ) ( )
F
x x D x x p m

= + i i
(2) for each vertex ( )
4
( ) d z = = =

i i i
V
V
. Corollary: i is the amplitude for emission and/or
absorption of particles at a vertex, and ( )
4
d z

is the sum of all points where the process can occur

3
.
(3) for each external point: [ ]
p x
x e

= =
i
1 1 F .
(4) impose momentum-conservation at each vertex
(5) integrate over each undetermined momentum:
4 4
(2 ) d p

.
(6) divide by the symmetry factor.



3
This is just the superposition-principle of quantum mechanics: when a process can happen in alternative ways, we add the amplitudes
for each possible way. To compute each individual amplitude: the Feynman rules tell us to multiply the amplitudes, propagators, and
vertex factors for each independent part of the process.