Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-quantum-field-theory-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2019/1/c/solution
Past exam of the quantum field theory course of the University of Oxford 2019 1 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Define and . The Hermitian quantum field has the mode expansion of a free fieldwhere the annihilation operators and creation operators obey the bosonic canonical commutation relationsBecause , its mode expansion of a free field isThe two nonzero cross commutators then giveand the equal-time field-field and momentum-momentum commutators vanish. This verifies the factor without requiring Lorentz invariance.
Substitution into the Hamiltonian, followed by normal ordering, yieldsConsequently : one application of a creation operator adds precisely the required quasiparticle energy. Before normal ordering there is the usual constant zero-point vacuum energy. If , the exactly zero-momentum mode has and is a free canonical coordinate, not an oscillator with a normalizable oscillator vacuum state; in a finite box handle that mode separately or introduce a small positive mass. The formula applies directly to all modes with .
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