Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 44 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Normalize the vacuum path integral by . The scalar two-point correlation function is , and the spinor two-point correlation function is . Vacuum boundary conditions make these time-ordered Feynman propagators. After integration by parts, the scalar quadratic action is .
The Schwinger-Dyson equation follows by integrating a functional derivative of : the derivative of the insertion supplies , and the action derivative supplies the kinetic operator. The analogous left Grassmann derivative calculation, or differentiation of the Grassmann Gaussian integral, givesUsing and the Clifford algebra, . ConsequentlyThe free quantum effective action is quadratic, so all scalar one-particle-irreducible vertices with vanish. Its two-point vertex is the stated inverse kinetic form .
For the Yukawa interaction, two vertices contribute , and a closed fermion loop contributes an extra minus sign. Tracing the two spinor numerators gives , since the one-gamma traces vanish. Removing the overall from the amplitude gives the displayed loop integral. DefineThe numerator decomposition and translation invariance of dimensional regularization reduce it toThe supplied tadpole pole is . A Feynman parameter combines the two bubble denominators. Shifting its loop momentum gives mass squared ; differentiating the tadpole integral with respect to this squared mass gives the double-denominator pole , independent of . Thus andThe counterterms contribute , so their minimal pole parts areCombining the kinetic terms gives wavefunction renormalization , and combining the mass terms gives . ThereforeThese are the Yukawa scalar self-energy pole coefficients; finite parts depend on the chosen renormalization condition.
The four-point graph is a Yukawa fermion box, with four external scalar legs attached to a closed spinor loop:
Each high-momentum dirac propagator is . The product of four is , and the leading gamma matrix trace identities is nonzero. The four-dimensional radial integral therefore contains : a logarithmic ultraviolet divergence. This local four-scalar divergence cannot be absorbed by scalar mass or field normalization. Add , and, using the stipulated four-point pole normalization, take so that cancels it.
For literal cancellation of every one-loop divergence with , counterterm closure of a massive Yukawa theory also requires the allowed scalar linear and cubic terms. A constant scalar background shifts the fermion mass to ; the divergent local fermion contribution contains a polynomial proportional to . Its linear and cubic terms are not forbidden by a symmetry when the fermion mass is nonzero. A closed renormalizable family therefore haswith field, mass and coupling redefinitions for both scalar and spinor fields. A tadpole condition can set the renormalized to zero, but its counterterm still exists. The vacuum constant is needed if vacuum energy is retained. If an exact discrete chiral symmetry is imposed with , the scalar potential can be even and the odd terms are forbidden; the essential new interaction is then the quartic one.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 304 3 b Solution 2026-09-28
Perform the infinitesimal local change of integration variablesin the Euclidean path integral for . The vector transformation has no quantum anomaly, so its functional measure is invariant. The action variation supplies , while varying the two charged insertions supplies contact terms at and with opposite signs. Since a change of integration variables cannot change the integral, the coefficient of the arbitrary function vanishes:This Schwinger-Dyson equation is the position-space Ward-Takahashi identity.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 301 3 a i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The classical equations areFor any time-ordered functional , the three Schwinger-Dyson equations state that insertion of each left-hand side equals the corresponding contact terms obtained by times the functional derivative of with respect to , , or , with the usual reversed order and Grassmann signs for fermionic derivatives.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 301 3 b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Let . Invariance of the normalized path integral under gives the Schwinger-Dyson equationtogether with . This assumes the functional measure is translation invariant, boundary terms in field space vanish, and vacuum bubbles are removed by normalization. The current is a fixed c-number and conserved; conservation removes dependence on the longitudinal, gauge-parameter part of the photon propagator. An prescription and adiabatic switching select the interacting vacuum.
