Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2016/iii/paper-305/1/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 305 1 b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use the printed gamma matrix conventions throughout, in particular . The transpose identity for gives , and its Hermitian conjugate gives the corresponding identity for . Thus the Dirac adjoint of the charge-conjugated field isReordering the anticommuting components of the fermion bilinear supplies a minus sign:Invariance for arbitrary fields therefore requires , so the charge-conjugation matrix is a unitary matrix. This is the required normalization constraint; it is not a bosonic reordering calculation.
For a spinor matrix , the same calculation and the given giveWith and , the supplied transpose identities implyConsequently the vector current is C-odd and the axial current is C-even: and .
For parity, put . The gamma matrix identities and giveThus is P-even and P-odd, whereas is P-odd and P-even. The axial current transforms as a pseudovector.
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