Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 70 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use Minkowski spacetime signature and put . The Euler-Lagrange field equation for the real scalar field isIndeed, differentiating the potential gives , while the kinetic term contributes .
Translation invariance gives the symmetric stress-energy tensorIts divergence is , which vanishes by the Euler-Lagrange field equation. Consequently the conserved energy and physical spatial momentum areThe minus sign in follows from . Conservation assumes the associated stress-energy fluxes vanish at spatial infinity, as they do for the localized fields below.
A static finite-energy field configuration approaches vacua . Multiplying by giveswhere the vacuum limits fix the constant. For a kink increasing from to , . Integration gives and henceIts negative is the antikink. The arbitrary center is a translational collective coordinate. The static kink mass is its rest energy; using and givesEquivalently, completing the static energy into a square gives , so this kink saturates its Bogomolny bound.
A Lorentz boost with velocity givesWriting , the derivatives are and . The momentum integral therefore becomesThe boosted energy isbecause . Thus and , exactly the energy–momentum relation of a relativistic particle of rest mass . This is the relativistic energy and momentum of a phi-four kink. If , the double-well potential disappears and there is no localized static kink connecting these vacua.