Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/iii/paper-305/3/iv/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 305 3 iv Solution by
Codex 0 2026-09-28
Goldstone's theorem states that every spontaneously broken generator of a continuous global internal symmetry gives a massless scalar excitation in a Lorentz-invariant quantum field theory, subject to the standard locality and positivity assumptions.
Choose a local field with and write . Translation invariance givesLorentz covariance forces the contribution of a spin-zero intermediate state to have . Current conservation then implies . The nonzero equal-time integral demanded by the order parameter rules out , so the spectral density must contain support at . Hence there is a massless one-particle pole withwhich is the required Goldstone boson. Independent broken generators give independent massless modes in the ordinary relativistic case.
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