Past exam of the quantum field theory course of the University of Oxford / 2019 / 1 / b

For a Lagrangian density depending on $\varphi$, ${\partial }_t\varphi$, ${\partial }_i\varphi$ and ${\partial }_i{\partial }_j\varphi$, direct variation givesTake $\delta \varphi$ to have compact support, so every boundary term vanishes. One integration by parts for the first-derivative terms and two for the second-derivative term yield the Euler-Lagrange field equation with second derivativesThe plus sign on the last term is essential. For the action in a, it is particularly transparent to vary the Laplacian directly:Thus the classical equation of motion isHere ${\nabla }^4=({\nabla }^2{)}^2$ is the biharmonic operator. Substitution of the plane wave $\varphi =A{e}^{-i\omega t+i\mathbf{p}\cdot \mathbf{x}}$ givesA real classical solution combines complex-conjugate plane waves. Quantization assigns the positive branch to the excitation energy, giving the required dispersion relation. The negative-frequency branch supplies the creation operator part of the field, rather than negative excitation energy. Independently, the Hamiltonian in a gives $\dot{\varphi }=\pi$, $\dot{\pi }=-{\kappa }^2{\nabla }^4\varphi -m^2\varphi$, confirming the same sign.