Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/iii/paper-40/2/ii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 40 2 ii Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
There are exactly two tree Feynman diagrams: the incident scalar can be absorbed before the final scalar is emitted, or after it. The internal fermion four-momenta are respectively and . A scalar exchange diagram would require an absent scalar self-interaction, so there is no additional tree channel.
Define the S-matrix convention . The two tree scattering amplitudes areUsing the Dirac propagator from the preceding Feynman rules,The two terms add with the same relative sign: neither diagram exchanges identical external fermions. Their interference must be retained when squaring the complete scattering amplitude. In the phase convention above, , which gives an equivalent simplified numerator. An overall phase depends on the S-matrix convention and does not change a relativistic scattering cross-section.
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