Use the full definition of the special unitary group: and . The determinant condition is essential for the alternating tensors; unitarity alone would instead define . Assume when discussing proper invariant subspaces.
Let be the fundamental representation. A tensor belongs to . Its SU(n) tensor transformation is
Since , complex conjugation exchanges upper fundamental and lower dual factors. Reordering the two index groups shows that is a tensor.
The invariant tensors follow directly. The Kronecker delta transforms to . For the alternating tensors, the determinant expansion gives
The lower tensor is preserved in the same way using . Thus , and are invariant.
When , the permutation of two upper slots commutes with the tensor product representation. Its and eigenspaces are nonzero proper invariant subspaces. The same argument uses two lower slots when . The remaining rank-two case splits into scalar multiples of and traceless second-rank tensors, since tensor contraction is equivariant. This covers every case except the fundamental, dual fundamental and scalar cases specified in the question. Those three are irreducible: the special unitary group acts transitively on unit vectors in its fundamental space, so a nonzero invariant subspace must be the full space, and the dual has the same property.
A symmetric tensor of upper rank has one component for each multiplicity vector with nonnegative entries and . Equivalently it is a homogeneous degree- polynomial in variables. Counting these monomials gives
For a totally antisymmetric tensor, any repeated index gives zero and the remaining components are indexed by increasing -element subsets. Hence
These are the dimensions of the symmetric power and exterior power, respectively.
For SU(4), the two-index antisymmetric representation has complex dimension six. To establish a six-dimensional real representation, one must exhibit a real structure; simply counting six complex components would give twelve real components. Normalize and define the antilinear map
The invariant Hermitian form identifies the conjugate indices with lower indices, and the invariant volume tensor then returns an upper pair. Thus commutes with SU(4). The identity
gives . Its fixed space has
Three arbitrary complex entries specify all the others, giving exactly six real degrees of freedom. The real structure of the SU4 exterior square therefore proves
The ordinary Hermitian norm restricts to an invariant positive real inner product on this fixed space.
Irreducible representations classify states because an exact symmetry commutes with the Hamiltonian, preserving energy eigenspaces. Irreducible multiplets are the smallest sets closed under all symmetry transformations; their labels and Casimir operators provide quantum numbers. Approximate flavour symmetry gives approximate multiplets and mass relations, with splittings caused by its breaking. Spin and internal quantum numbers are distinct labels.
For the light-quark flavour symmetry in Quantum chromodynamics, the quark flavours form . Their Triple tensor decomposition for the defining sl3 representation is
This algebraic decomposition alone does not determine the allowed ground-state baryons. The three-quark colour singlet is antisymmetric. The no-orbital-excitation ground state has a symmetric spatial wavefunction, so the Pauli exclusion principle requires the combined spin-flavour wavefunction to be symmetric. The three spin-one-half factors have
Here the four-dimensional spin representation has spin , while each doublet has spin . Symmetric decuplet flavour pairs with symmetric spin . The two flavour-octet copies and two spin-doublet copies carry the two-dimensional standard permutation multiplicity space; its tensor square contains one symmetric singlet. Their invariant pairing therefore supplies one octet with spin , not two independent ground-state octets. Antisymmetric flavour would need a completely antisymmetric three-quark spin state, which does not exist.
Equivalently the symmetric spin-flavour SU6 representation has
Thus the Pauli constraint on three-quark flavour multiplets gives the concise spectrum classification
These are the baryon octet and baryon decuplet. The three-quark flavour singlet requires a different spatial permutation symmetry and belongs to excited states, outside the symmetric ground-state approximation used here. If low-lying spatially excited states are also included while their orbital labels are merely suppressed, singlets can occur; the full flavour tensor cube has types . The absence of the singlet from the unexcited ground multiplet is a permutation-symmetry constraint, not a prohibition by alone. Light-quark mass differences make the flavour symmetry approximate rather than exact.
Linearity of Stokes flow and rotational symmetry, including reflection in mathematics invariance of the spherical geometry, determine the possible rigid motions before any calculation. Translation is a polar vector; its linear dependence on a single vector must be . A traceless second-rank tensor cannot produce a polar vector by an isotropic linear map: tensor contraction with the identity matrix vanishes and tensor contraction with the totally antisymmetric tensor vanishes because is a symmetric second-rank tensor. Angular velocity is an axial vector. Neither nor a symmetric can produce one by an isotropic linear map. Products such as are excluded by Linearity of Stokes flow. Thus .
Use the Unscaled Papkovich–Neuber representation, with harmonic functions and :
Indeed and because each potential is a harmonic function. Put and . The decaying harmonic functions with the necessary angular dependence are , and . The last is a harmonic function precisely because . A Stokeslet is excluded by the force-free condition, and a rotlet by the torque-free condition. Try
The resulting Stokes flow is
At , the coefficient of fixes ; the remaining constant vector gives . In the mode, matching gives and . Therefore the complete two-mode tensorial squirmer flow is
The boundary condition is satisfied in the laboratory frame, so the Stokes flow tends to zero at infinity. The potential dipole in the mode gives an irrotational flow and decays as ; the leading mode is a stresslet, decaying as . Neither carries a net force or torque. Direct surface integral averaging with the surface slip velocity formula gives the same translation, providing an independent check. Uniqueness of Stokes flow then identifies this decaying solution.
Both the D meson and kaon are spin-zero pseudoscalars. The strong interaction states obey parity symmetry in quantum field theory. Consequently an axial current matrix element between them would have to be a pseudovector formed from only and , which is impossible: an totally antisymmetric tensor would require more linearly independent vectors. Thus
Lorentz covariance then leaves two linearly independent vectors for the vector current matrix element, giving the pseudoscalar-to-pseudoscalar form factors
The vanishing axial current here follows from strong interaction parity symmetry in quantum field theory, not parity symmetry in quantum field theory of the weak interaction.
To obtain the requested decay formula, use naive factorization of a nonleptonic meson decay: approximate the four-quark matrix element by the product of the current matrix element and the vacuum-to-pion matrix element. This is an additional hadronic approximation; tree-level weak vertices alone do not establish it, and nonfactorizable Quantum chromodynamics effects can change the result. The vacuum-to-pion vector current matrix element vanishes by parity symmetry in quantum field theory, while the specified pion decay constant normalization gives
The cancels the in the four-fermion interaction. Up to an irrelevant overall phase, the scattering amplitude is therefore
For , , so only survives. Integrating the two-body decay phase space in the D meson rest frame gives
Hence
This coefficient uses exactly the stated pion decay constant convention and the stated massless-pion approximation.
For an unpolarized electromagnetic target, Lorentz covariance and parity symmetry in quantum field theory permit a symmetric hadronic tensor built from , and , where . Its surviving general form is
The totally antisymmetric tensor structure is excluded by electromagnetic parity symmetry in quantum field theory for this unpolarized target. The other possible antisymmetric structure, , cannot be transverse for generic scattering kinematics and hence is excluded by current conservation. Current conservation gives the Ward identities , imposing
Two scalar functions remain. Taking gives the transverse basis
These are the deep-inelastic structure functions; is Bjorken x. At fixed target mass, the two independent Lorentz scalar invariants can equivalently be chosen as . In this paper has dimensions of mass squared, rather than the alternative convention used for energy transfer.
A tensor is totally antisymmetric tensor if interchanging any two indices changes its sign. Consequently every component with repeated indices vanishes. In :
  • for , the general tensor is , with three free components;
  • for , it is ;
  • for , every component repeats an index, so the tensor is zero.
These are all possibilities.