Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-quantum-field-theory-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2019/3/b/solution

Variation of the action with respect to the independent Dirac adjoint gives . The gamma matrices chosen in a make the Dirac equation
Multiplication by gives the equivalent Dirac Hamiltonian form
For a plane wave , where is the signed one-dimensional momentum, the equation is
A nonzero spinor exists precisely when the determinant vanishes:
For , one possible unnormalized spinor solution is . Alternatively, follows from the Pauli matrix multiplication law, proving the same relativistic energy-momentum relation. Acting on the Dirac equation with also shows that each component satisfies , the Klein-Gordon equation.

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