Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-theoretical-physics-i-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2016/paper-1/2/c/solution

Hold fixed while varying . With the specified convention , the two matter variations are and . Thus
Adding the Maxwell variation from part (a) gives . Consequently
Expanding the gauge covariant derivatives supplies a useful convention check:
In particular, the last sign is negative for the specified plus sign in . Reversing that convention requires consistently changing the phase transformation and current conventions as well. This current is the matter source in scalar electrodynamics; its dependence must not be dropped.

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