The local matrix is a gauge transformation in the representation acting on the matter field. With Hermitian Lie algebra generators it can be written locally in spacetime, and pointwise for , as
The real functions can instead include a factor of by redefining the transformation parameters. The gauge covariant derivative convention in this paper is . Inserting the stated transformed shows explicitly that the term cancels, giving .
In QCD, each quark field is in the colour fundamental representation , with . Thus its colour generators are eight matrices, conventionally for the Gell-Mann matrices; their number is not their matrix dimension. The eight gluons themselves transform in the adjoint representation of SU(3).
With , the pure Yang-Mills theory has Lagrangian . Put and . Since ,
The cross term has two derivative contributions. Interchange and then in the second; antisymmetry of makes it equal to the first. The cubic and quartic Yang-Mills self-interactions are therefore
The positive cubic sign follows from the negative term in the given Yang-Mills field strength; changing the covariant-derivative convention consistently changes intermediate signs.
For the left-handed quark doublet , the hypercharge is and the weak generators are . Its electroweak term is
The Pauli matrices give diagonal entries and off-diagonal entries . Expanding the term gives
In particular the off-diagonal weak charged current coupling is .
Write , . Invert the neutral-field rotation: , . The original PDF gives , so
The photon coefficients inside the derivative are for , and for . Multiplication by the in the kinetic Lagrangian gives the requested electromagnetic coupling of a weak multiplet:
Equivalently it is , making the electric charges explicit. The remaining neutral terms are . The TeX's missing prime in the mixing-angle ratio and truncated first Pauli matrix are conversion errors, not physical assumptions.
Quark doublet 2026-10-14
In one Standard Model generation, the left-handed up and down quark fields form a weak doublet of hypercharge . Each weak component has three colours. The same field therefore counts as three doublets for weak gauge-loop contributions and two colour fundamentals for strong gauge-loop contributions. Right-handed up and down quarks are separate weak singlets.
Quark field 2026-10-14
A quark field is a Dirac field or a chiral Weyl spinor carrying the colour fundamental representation of . Its three colour components transform as under local gauge transformations. The colour index is independent of the Lorentz spinor index, and the weak representations of its left and right chiral components differ in the Standard Model.