Deriving equations of motion of abelian gauge field coupled to scalar

In summary, the equations of motion are three sets of equations. One for each of the fields ##\phi,\phi^\dagger, A_\mu##.
  • #1
Geigercounter
8
2
Homework Statement
Consider the following theory in three dimensions (1 time and 2 space)
$$\mathcal{L} = -(D^\mu\phi)^\dagger(D_\mu\phi)-\frac{1}{4}\lambda( \phi^\dagger\phi - v^2)^2-\frac{1}{4}F_{\mu\nu}F^{\mu\nu},$$ i.e. an abelian gauge field coupled to a complex scalar. Here $$F_{\mu\nu} = \partial_\mu A_\nu - \partial_\nu A_\mu,$$ ##\lambda## and ##v## are real numbers and $$D_\mu \phi = \partial_\mu \phi -iq A_\mu \phi.$$ Now we parametrize the spatial plane with polar coordinates ##\vec{x} = (r\cos \phi, r \sin \phi)## and take the solutions to be of the form (this is an assumption) $$\phi(r,\psi) = vf(r)e^{in\psi} \qquad \qquad \qquad \vec{A}(r,\psi) = \frac{i}{q}a(r)e^{in\psi} \nabla e^{-in\psi}, A_0 = 0.$$ Here ##n \in \mathbb{Z}##, ##a## and ##f## both go to ##1## as ##r \rightarrow \infty## and to zero at the origin.
Relevant Equations
See above
I want to compute the equations of motion for this theory in terms of the functions ##f## and ##a##. My plan was to apply the Euler-Lagrange equations, but it got confusing very quickly.

Am I right that we'll have 3 sets of equations? One for each of the fields ##\phi,\phi^\dagger, A_\mu## ?

So for example the equation of motion when differentiating to ##\phi##becomes $$-\frac{1}{2} \lambda(\phi^\dagger \phi - v^2) \phi^\dagger + \partial^\mu\phi^\dagger (iqA_\mu) - q^2A^\mu A_\mu\phi^\dagger + \partial_\mu\partial^\mu \phi^\dagger + iq \partial_\mu(A^\mu \phi^\dagger) = 0$$ Is this correct?

Then I'm also confused on the ##\partial_\mu## since we are now in spherical coordinates. Are these still derivatives with respect to ##x^1## and ##x^2## or with respect to ##r## and ##\psi##? I'm having some brain lag on this part.

EDIT: I've worked some more on the problem and obtained these equations of motion:
$$-\frac{1}{2}\lambda\phi^\dagger(\phi^\dagger \phi - v^2) +iqA_\mu\left(\partial^\mu + iqA^\mu \right) \phi^\dagger = - \partial_\alpha\left(\partial^\alpha + iqA^\alpha\right)\phi^\dagger$$

$$-\frac{1}{2}\lambda\phi(\phi^\dagger \phi - v^2) -iqA_\mu\left(\partial^\mu - iqA^\mu \right) \phi = - \partial_\alpha\left(\partial^\alpha - iqA^\alpha\right)\phi$$

$$\partial_\alpha F^{\alpha\mu} = iq\left(\phi(\partial^\mu + iq A^\mu )\phi^\dagger - \phi^\dagger(\partial^\mu - iqA^\mu)\phi \right)$$

Now plugging in our ansatz for the first one gives a large second order differential equation: $$-\frac{1}{2}\lambda v^3f(r)(f^2(r) - 1) + n^2a(r)\frac{1}{r^2}vf(r)\left(1 - a(r)\right) = vf''(r) -n^2vf(r)$$ This looks very messy to me...
 
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  • #2
Should your polar coordinates read ## \vec x = (r \cos \psi , r \sin \psi)##?

Have you tried rewriting your scalar fields as ##\phi = \rho (x) + \text{i} \eta (x)##, ##\phi^\dagger = \rho (x) - \text{i}\eta (x)## and rewritten the lagrangian in terms of the real scalar fields ##\rho## and ##\eta## instead?
 
  • #3
Yes ##\psi## indeed. I'd edit the post but seems like I can't do that anymore. I don't think I'd need to rewrite in a real and imaginary part though, since I have an explicit solution (ansatz)...
 
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  • #4
You can always do the same trick with the ansatz.
Have you noticed what happens if you take the complex conjugate of the eq of motion for ##\phi##?
What about the time parameter of the field?
 
  • #5
Well the fields are time-independent. The hermitian conjugate of the EOM for ##\phi## is precisely the EOM for ##\phi^\dagger##.

I don't see ow doing your trick in the ansatz will help further. I wrote it out but that makes everything more complicated in my opinion. What's wrong with the method I'm applying now?
 
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  • #6
How can you have eq of motion with time independent fields?
Where is this problem from?
 
  • #7
This ansatz is in the form of a soliton. In easiest case it is time independent.
 
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  • #8
Geigercounter said:
This ansatz is in the form of a soliton. In easiest case it is time independent.
And this is a textbook problem? Can you provide the original problem statement?
 
  • #9
The problem statement is as I've written it here. I got it from lecture notes I studied a while back when looking at solitons.
 
  • #10
Where is the actual statement?
1684868332122.png

Is the problem to "find a closed solution to ##f(r)## and ##a(r)##"?
 
  • #11
Not exactly. From the equations of motion I want to find two second order differential equations in ##a(r)## and ##f(r)##. That statement is just below the relevant equations section.

My apologies for the bad formatting.
 

FAQ: Deriving equations of motion of abelian gauge field coupled to scalar

What is an abelian gauge field?

An abelian gauge field is a field that is associated with an abelian gauge symmetry, such as the U(1) symmetry in electromagnetism. In this context, the gauge field is typically represented by a vector field, often denoted as Aμ, which mediates interactions between charged particles.

What is a scalar field in this context?

A scalar field is a field that assigns a single scalar value to every point in space and time. In the context of gauge field theory, a scalar field often represents a particle with no intrinsic spin, such as the Higgs field in the Standard Model of particle physics. It can interact with gauge fields and other scalar fields.

What are the equations of motion for an abelian gauge field coupled to a scalar field?

The equations of motion are derived from the Lagrangian density of the system. For an abelian gauge field Aμ coupled to a complex scalar field φ, the Lagrangian typically includes terms for the gauge field, the scalar field, and their interaction. The equations of motion are obtained by applying the Euler-Lagrange equations to this Lagrangian.

How do you derive the equations of motion from the Lagrangian?

To derive the equations of motion, you first write down the Lagrangian density of the system. Then, you apply the Euler-Lagrange equations separately for the gauge field Aμ and the scalar field φ. This involves taking partial derivatives of the Lagrangian with respect to the fields and their derivatives, and setting these equal to zero.

What is the significance of these equations of motion?

The equations of motion describe how the fields evolve over time and interact with each other. They are fundamental to understanding the dynamics of the system, predicting physical phenomena, and exploring the implications of gauge theories in various contexts, such as particle physics and cosmology.

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