Scalar Definition and 829 Threads

I've seen dot product being represented as a (nx1 vector times a (mx1)^T vector. This gives a 1x1 matrix, whereas the dot product should give a scalar. I have found some threads online saying that a 1x1 matrix IS a scalar. But none of them seem to answer this question: you can multiply a 2x2...

The Hamiltonian for a scalar field contains the term $$\int d^3x m^2 \phi(x) \phi(x)$$, does it changs to the following form? $$\int d^3x' {m'}^2 \phi'(x') \phi'(x')=\int d^3x' \gamma^2{m}^2 \phi(x) \phi(x)$$? As it is well known for a scalar field: $$\phi'(x')=\phi(x)$$ .

The Lagrangian, $$\mathcal L(x)= \frac 1 2 \partial^{\mu} \phi (x) \partial_{\mu} \phi (x) - \frac 1 2 m^2 \phi (x)^2$$ for a scalar field ##\phi (x)## is said to be Lorentz invariant and to transform covariantly under translation. What does it mean that it transforms covariantly under translation?

It has been shown in the text that ##h_0 = \frac 1 {\Box} J## with the diagram and that ##h_1 = \lambda \frac 1 {\Box} (h_0 h_0) = \lambda \frac 1 {\Box} [( \frac 1 {\Box} J)( \frac 1 {\Box}J)]## with the diagram I was not sure if the next order diagram is or rather Thus, I substitute...

I am facing a problem while wanting ##\phi## dynamics in a cubic potential; ##g\phi^{3}##. The equation of motion I get for my case is(this follows from the usual Euler-Lagrange equations for ##\phi## in cosmology--Briefly discussed in Carol's Spacetime Geometry, inflation chapter)...

Hey all, I am encountering an issue reconciling the choice of prefactors in the canonical quantization of the scalar field between Srednicki and Peskin's books. In Peskin's book (see equation (2.47)), there is a prefactor of ##\frac{1}{\sqrt{2E_{p}}}## whereas in Srednicki's book (see equation...

A minimally coupled scalar field can model a cosmological fluid model where And where the equation of state can be the standard ## \omega = \frac {p} {\rho}## I can see how this does a fine job modeling matter, because as the scale factor increases, the density will go as ##\frac {1} {a^3}##...

For a complex scalar field, the lagrangian density and the associated conserved current are given by: $$ \mathcal{L} = \partial^\mu \psi^\dagger \partial_\mu \psi -m^2 \psi^\dagger \psi $$ $$J^{\mu} = i \left[ (\partial^\mu \psi^\dagger ) \psi - (\partial^\mu \psi ) \psi^\dagger \right] $$...

I am trying to calculate the amplitude for a decay ##\phi \to e^+e^-## under a Yukawa interaction ##\mathcal{L}_I = -g\phi \bar{\psi}\psi## to one-loop order (with massless fermions for simplicity). If I'm not wrong, there are 4 diagrams that contribute to 1 loop, three diagrams involving...

Hi, Let's say we have the Gram-Schmidt Vectors ##b_i^*## and let's say ##d_n^*,...,d_1^*## is the Gram-Schmidt Version of the dual lattice Vectors of ##d_n,...,d_1##. Let further be ##b_1^* = b_1## and ##d_1^*## the projection of ##d_1## on the ##span(d_2,...,d_n)^{\bot} = span(b_1)##. We have...

Hi I was just wondering about the suvat formulae and a question popped into my head, which I'd like someone to try and explain the reason as to why please. So I know that when we have a formula such as F=ma or v = u + at, you can evaluate the magnitude of both sides and arrive at a scalar...

Hi! For example, how do you tell whether to use the scalar or cross product for an problem such as, However, I do know that instantaneous angular momentum = cross product of the instantaneous position vector and instantaneous momentum. However, what about if I didn't know whether I'm meant to...

Suppose an optical scalar wave traveling in Z direction. Using the diffraction theory of Fourier Optics, we can predict its new distribution after a distance Z. The core idea of Fourier Optics is to decompose a scalar wave into plane waves traveling in different directions. But this...

I am to consider a basis function ##\phi_i(x)##, where ##\phi_0 = 1 ,\phi_1 = cosx , \phi_2 = cos(2x) ## and where the scalar product in this vector space is defined by ##\braket{f|g} = \int_{0}^{\pi}f^*(x)g(x)dx## The functions are defined by ##f(x) = sin^2(x)+cos(x)+1## and ##g(x) =...

Considering the FLWR metric in cartesian coordinates: ##ds^2=-dt^2+a^2(t)(dx^2+dy^2+dz^2)## With ##a(t)=t##, the trace of the extrinsic curvature tensor is ##-3t##. But why is it negative if it's describing an expanding universe, not a contracting one?

Hi all experts! I would like to read about the Lagrangian of a classical (non-quantum), real, scalar, relativistic field and how it is derived. What is the best book for that purpose?Sten Edebäck

If we define Laplacian of scalar field in some curvilinear coordinates ## \Delta U## could we then just say what ##\Delta## is in that orthogonal coordinates and then act with the same operator on the vector field ## \Delta \vec{A}##?

Suppose I have some interaction potential, u(r), between two repelling particles. We will name them particles 1 and 2. I want to find the force vectors F_12 and F_21. Would I be correct in saying that the x-component of F_12 would be given by -du/dx, y-component -du/dy etc? And to find the...

I am stuck deriving the gauge field produced in curved spacetime for a complex scalar field. If the underlying spacetime changes, I would assume it would change the normal Lagrangian and the gauge field in the same way, so at first guess I would say the gauge field remains unchanged. If there...

Hi everyone, In his book "Quantum field theory and the standard model", Schwartz derives the position-space Feynman rules starting from the Schwinger-Dyson formula (section 7.1.1). I have two questions about his derivation. 1) As a first step, he rewrites the correlation function as $$...

I'm not interested in the mathematical derivation, the mathematical derivation already is based on the assumption that momentum is a vector and kinetic energy is a scalar, thus it proves nothing. Specifically, what happens if we discuss scalarized momentum? What happens if we discuss vectorized...

Hi there, In his book "Quantum field theory and the standard model", Schwartz assumes that the canonical commutation relations for a free scalar field also apply to interacting fields (page 79, section 7.1). As a justification he states: I do not understand this explanation. Can you please...

Hi, I'm wondering if I have an expression for the scalar magnetic potential (V_in) and (V_out) inside and outside a magnetic cylinder and the potential is continue everywhere, which mean ##V^1 - V^2 = 0## at the boundary. Does it means that ##V^1 - V^2 = V_{in} - V_{out} = 0## ?

I am a research student of MS PHYSICS. I have to numerically solve Friedman equation coupled to scalar field(phi). It is given in research paper of Sean Carroll, Mark Trodden and Hoffman entitled as ""can the dark energy equation of state parameter w be less than-1?""...

Greetings! My question is: is it possible to use the green theorem to compute the circulation while in presence of a scalar function ? I know how to solve by parametrising each part but just in case we can go faster? thank you!

In a general coordinate system ##\{x^1,..., x^n\}##, the Covariant Gradient of a scalar field ##f:\mathbb{R}^n \rightarrow \mathbb{R}## is given by (using Einstein's notation) ## \nabla f=\frac{\partial f}{\partial x^{i}} g^{i j} \mathbf{e}_{j} ## I'm trying to prove that this covariant...

Hi all, I am trying to work through the Unruh Effect for the (1+1)-dimensional massive scalar field case and came across the paper I attached. However, I am trying to derive equation 5.68, but am greatly struggling with the prefactor on the left hand side. When comparing the left hand side to...

Hi all, I am currently trying to prove formula 21 from the attached paper. My work is as follows: If anyone can point out where I went wrong I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks.

I cannot seem to start answering the question as a result of the path not being provided. How do I solve this when the path is not provided? See picture below

Problem : We are required to show that ##I = \int_C x^2y\;ds = \frac{1}{3}##. Attempt : Before I begin, let me post an image of the problem situation, on the right. I would like to do this problem in three ways, starting with the simplest way - using (plane) polar coordinates. (1) In (plane)...

Hi there. I'm trying to solve the problem mentioned above, the thing is I'm truly lost and I don't know how to start solving this problem. Sorry if I don't have a concrete attempt at a solution. How do I derive the Feynman rules for this Lagrangian? What I think happens is that in momentum...

A general free field Lagrangian in curved spacetime (- + + +), is given by: L = -1/2 ∇cΦ ∇cΦ - V(Φ) when the derivative index is lowered, we obtain: L = -1/2 gdc∇dΦ ∇cΦ - V(Φ) then we can choose to replace V(Φ) with something like 1/2 b2 Φ2 so: L = -1/2 gdc∇dΦ ∇cΦ - 1/2 b2 Φ2 ** I will...

Hi If i have 2 general vectors written in Cartesian coordinates then the scalar product a.b can be written as aibi because the basis vectors are an orthonormal basis. In Hamiltonian mechanics i have seen the Hamiltonian written as H = pivi - L where L is the lagrangian and v is the time...

I have calculated $Z$s as $$ \begin{aligned} Z_1 & = 1 + \frac{3g^2}{16\pi^2} \left[ 2 C(R) - \frac12 T(A) \right] \frac1{\epsilon} + \cdots, \\ Z_2 &= 1 + \frac{3g^2}{8\pi^2} C(R) \frac1{\epsilon} + \cdots, \\ Z_3 &= 1 + \frac{g^2}{24\pi^2} \left[ 5 T(A) - T(R) \right] \frac1{\epsilon} +...

We have a scalar potential $$\Phi(\vec{r})=\frac{q}{4\pi\epsilon_0} \left( \frac{1}{r} - \frac{a^2\gamma e^{-\gamma t}\cos\theta}{r^3}\right)$$ and a vector potential $$\vec{A}(\vec{r})=\frac{a^2qe^{-\gamma t}}{4\pi\epsilon_0r^4}\left(3\cos\theta\hat{r} + \sin\theta\hat{\theta} \right) .$$ how...

I was trying to calculate $$R = g^{ij}R_{ij}$$ bu using einsum but I couldn't not work it out. Anyone can help me ? Here are some of the resources https://stackoverflow.com/questions/26089893/understanding-numpys-einsum...

It can be shown mathematically that the scalar massless wave equation is conformally invariant. However, doing so is rather tedious and muted in terms of physical understanding. As such, is there a physically intuitive explanation as to why the scalar massless wave equation is conformally invariant?

The term for the electromagnetic interaction of a Fermion is ##g \bar{\Psi} \gamma_\mu \Psi A^\mu##, where ##g## is a dimensionless coupling constant, ##\Psi## is the wave function of the Fermion, ##\gamma## are the gamma matrices and ##A## is the electromagnetic field. One can quite simply see...

Homework Statement:: The solution to the KG equation is assumed to take the form$$\Phi = \sum_{l=0}^{\infty} \sum_{m=-l}^{l} \frac{1}{r} \phi_{lm}(t,r) Y_{lm}(\theta, \phi)$$ Relevant Equations:: N/A To first show that $$\left[ \frac{\partial^2}{\partial t^2} - \frac{d^2}{dr_*^2} +...

Let us work with ##(-+++)## signature Where the metric ##g_{\mu \nu}## is the flat version (i.e. ##K=0##) of the Robertson–Walker metric (I personally liked how Weinberg derived it in his Cosmology book, section 1.1) \begin{equation*} (ds)^2 = -(dt)^2 + a^2(t) (d \vec x)^2 \end{equation*}...

I am studying the real scalar field theory in ##d## spacetime dimensions as beautifully presented by M. Srednicki QFT's draft book, chapter 18 (actually, for the sake of simplicity, let us include polynomial interactions of degree less than or equal to 6 only) \begin{equation*} \mathcal{L}...

I need the Ricci scalar for the FRW metric with a general lapse function ##N##: $$ds^2=-N^2(t) dt^2+a^2(t)\Big[\frac{dr^2}{1-kr^2}+r^2(d\theta^2+\sin^2\theta\ d\phi^2)\Big]$$ Could someone put this into Mathematica as I don't have it?

Is the scale factor a scalar? I think that the answer is no but I want to check because god (or the universe) has been playing tricks on me... At Sean Carroll's invitation I wanted to check that the tensor$$ K_{\mu\nu}=a^2\left(g_{\mu\nu}+U_\mu U_\nu\right) $$was a Killing tensor...

Hi there, In QFT, a free scalar field can be represented by the lagrangian density $$\mathcal{L} = \frac{1}{2}\left(\partial\phi\right)^2 - \frac{1}{2}m^2\phi^2$$ I would like to find a classical system that has the same lagrangian. If we consider the transversal motion of an elastic string...

It is the first time that I am faced with a complex field, I would not want to be wrong about how to solve this type of problem. Usually to solve the equations of motion I apply the Euler Lagrange equations. $$\partial_\mu\frac{\partial L}{\partial \phi/_\mu}-\frac{\partial L}{\partial \phi}=0$$...

Why is the action a scalar? Please explain.

I am looking at antenna theory and just came upon scalar fields. I found an site giving an example of a scalar field as measuring the temperature in a pan on a stove with a small layer of water. The temperature away from the heat source will be cooler than near it but it doesn't have a...

I wonder if there is any book that discusses the possibility of existence of a magnetic scalar potential. That is a scalar potential ##\chi## such that $$\vec{B}=\nabla\chi+\nabla\times\vec{A}$$. From Gauss's law for the magnetic field B we can conclude that it will always satisfy laplace's...

Let us suppose we have a scalar field ##\phi##. The Klein-Gordon equations for the field can be written as \begin{equation} \ddot{\phi} + 3H \dot{\phi} + \frac{dV(\phi)}{d\phi} = 0 \end{equation} The other two are the Friedmann equations written in terms of the ##\phi## \begin{equation} H^2 =...