Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-quantum-field-theory-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2024/1/e/solution
Past exam of the quantum field theory course of the University of Oxford 2024 1 e Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Assume , as required to have a rest frame. Choose the Lorentz boost for which , and write its unitary operator as . The stipulated one-particle state normalization gives without a momentum-dependent prefactor. A Lorentz scalar at the origin satisfies , and the vacuum state satisfies . Inserting therefore provesWith a noncovariant normalization of momentum eigenstates, the assumed boost law would instead contain a square-root energy factor, so this equality is specifically tied to the paper's assumption.
Let denote the four-momentum of the other energy eigenstate. Translation covariance first givesThus a suitable ket, including the phase whose complex conjugate appears in its bra, isHere means . The overall phase depends on the fixed insertion point ; it does not change the energy eigenvalue. It cannot simply be dropped if the equality of complex matrix elements is to hold exactly.
The transformed state has four-momentum . Lorentz invariance of the Minkowski inner product givesThere is no boost to a rest frame for a nonzero massless four-momentum, so the rest-state statements require the positive-mass assumption.
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