Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-groups-and-representations-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2022/2/d/i/solution

The Dynkin index is additive over a direct sum of group representations, so copies of the fundamental representation have . With , the supplied beta function becomes
For positive gauge coupling , asymptotic freedom at this order requires , hence . For nonnegative integer ,
At the one-loop coefficient vanishes, so this formula alone does not establish asymptotic freedom. This count follows the scalar multiplicity convention of the printed beta function; changing how a real or complex scalar field is counted requires changing its coefficient too.

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