Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/iii/paper-48/1/d/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 48 1 d Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use the PDF's convention in which multiplies , rather than . Its unitarity converts the given gamma matrix identity intoApplying it twice givesFor real infinitesimal Lorentz transformation parameters,Therefore transforms in exactly the same spinor representation as . The coordinate pullback is real and transforms identically as well. This is the antilinear charge-conjugation intertwiner relation; exponentiating also gives for connected transformations.
For real mass, complex conjugation of the free Dirac equation gives . Multiply by and move it through the gamma matrices:ThusAs an explicit check, in the given Weyl representation of the gamma matrices one may take . It is unitary and obeys the required conjugation identity. The free-equation conclusion does not assert that a charge-conjugated field retains the same charge in a fixed electromagnetic background.
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