Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2014 / iii / Paper 40 / 1 / iv / Solution

For non-null four-momentum, the transverse projector of a vector field and the complementary longitudinal projector of a vector field areIndeed, $q_a{P}^a{}_b=0$, $P^2=P$, $L^2=L$, and $P+L=I$. Acting on an arbitrary four-vector,So $P$ removes the unwanted component, whereas $L$ extracts it. On the massive mass shell, $q^2=-m^2$ and $P^a{}_b={\delta }_b^a+q^a{q}_b/m^2$. This on-shell form should not be used as an off-shell linear projection: away from $q^2=-m^2$ it is not idempotent. The non-null hypothesis matters; this decomposition is undefined at $q^2=0$.