Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-theoretical-physics-i-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2013/paper-1/4/solution
Past exam of the theoretical physics I course of the University of Cambridge 2013 Paper 1 4 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
For a real scalar triplet, with metric signature , differentiating the Lagrangian density gives and . HenceFor a constant internal rotation parameter, the variation isEach bracketed tensor is symmetric in , so its contraction with the antisymmetric symbol vanishes. This rotates the three field components, not the space coordinates; both the kinetic term and common mass term are invariant.
For a first-principles Noether current derivation, temporarily let depend on spacetime. The terms proportional to still cancel, leavingOn a solution of the field equations, the action variation for a compactly supported vanishes after integration by parts. Thus . To match the charges printed in the question, use the equivalent overall sign convention for the SO(3) Noether current of a real scalar tripletArbitrariness of gives three continuity equations. Their charges are exactlyAn overall reversal of all currents is immaterial; the minus sign above keeps the generator convention distinct from the supplied charge convention.
Direct verification is also short:The mass term and the products of equal-type derivatives cancel by antisymmetry; integration by parts produces the boundary term. The charges are conserved when these integrals exist and the net boundary flux vanishes: sufficiently decaying fields on all space, periodic boundary conditions, or suitable symmetry-preserving no-flux boundaries suffice. Arbitrary open boundaries do not. A common constant is necessary for this internal symmetry; its positivity is a stability issue, not needed for the algebraic conservation proof.
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