Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 45 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use the metric and . Transposing a product reverses its order but does not conjugate the factor . Thus the charge-conjugation matrix identity giveswhere reversing the four distinct gamma matrices requires six exchanges. Similarly,
To fix the transpose sign, work in the Weyl representation of the gamma matrices:The Pauli identity checks directly, and gives , with . Any other intertwiner differs from by a scalar: its ratio with commutes with all gamma matrices, whose products span the full four-by-four matrix algebra. A matrix commuting with all matrix units is scalar. Under a spinor basis change , the intertwiner becomes , whose transpose is still its negative. Therefore in every such four-component representationThis proves the antisymmetry of the four-dimensional charge-conjugation matrix, rather than leaving the sign undetermined by the general transpose argument.
Hermitian conjugating the charged Dirac equation, using real and , gives the adjoint Dirac equationTranspose it and multiply by . Since , the field obtained by charge conjugation obeysThus algebraic charge conjugation reverses the electromagnetic coupling.
If , , Hermiticity of and its anticommutation with implyUsing the first transpose identity,Hence : algebraic charge conjugation reverses chirality. This concerns conjugating the already projected spinor, not the distinct operation of keeping a chiral projector outside an operator conjugation.
For the Grassmann variation of a chiral Majorana mass term, variations of odd fields must be moved past odd fields with a minus sign. If , componentwise reordering givesBoth and are antisymmetric. Treating independently, integrating the kinetic variation by parts, and placing varied Grassmann fields on the left givesThe factors two from variation cancel the mass-term factors . The first coefficient gives one equation; multiplying the second by gives the other:The variations can be restricted to their chiral subspaces: the two terms in each equation have the same opposite output chirality, so no inactive component equation has been imposed.
Applying to the first equation and substituting the second, using , givesA phase rotation removes the phase of , and combining the chiral field with its conjugate then gives a Majorana fermion of this mass, not two independent chiral species.
Let and . Question 1 shows they are gauge singlets, so both terms in preserve electroweak gauge invariance. The original PDF has in the first term; the TeX aid incorrectly replaces it by . At the Higgs field vacuum,soComparing with the just-derived chiral mass equations yields the Majorana neutrino mass from the Weinberg operator:For nonzero this generates a mass without introducing a right-handed neutrino. Under lepton number rotation , the first operator acquires and its conjugate acquires . Thus the interaction violates lepton number by . Each composite contains one scalar of mass dimension one and one fermion of dimension , so the interaction is dimension five and has dimension . This is the Weinberg operator, an effective extension of the minimal renormalizable Standard Model, consistent with the absence of bare quadratic masses in Question 1.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 305 1 iv Solution 2026-09-28
With the Standard Model field content, every gauge-invariant, Lorentz-invariant operator of dimension at most four automatically preserves baryon number and total lepton number. They are therefore accidental symmetries, rather than symmetries imposed in constructing the renormalizable Lagrangian. This explains perturbative conservation in ordinary reactions. They are not exact principles: the electroweak chiral anomaly violates , the dimension-five Weinberg operator violates lepton number, and dimension-six proton-decay operators can violate baryon number. The combination is anomaly free when a right-handed neutrino is included in each generation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 305 1 vi Solution 2026-09-28
The unique dimension-five operator built solely from Standard Model fields is the Weinberg operatorwhich gives a Majorana mass term after the Higgs condenses. A dimension-six example that mediates proton decay iswith Lorentz and weak indices contracted appropriately; is another. Their dimensions explain why neutrino masses are tiny and proton decay is rare: both probe a high scale, while the stronger proton-lifetime bound places especially severe constraints on baryon-number violation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 305 4 Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
In the convention , one Standard Model fermion generation including a right-handed neutrino isA bare Dirac mass term pairs left- and right-handed fields in the same gauge representation, but every charged left-handed Standard Model fermion is an doublet while its right-handed partner is a singlet. The Higgs field and permit the gauge-invariant Yukawa interactionsThe neutral Higgs vacuum expectation value turns them into masses after electroweak symmetry breaking.
Because is a gauge singlet, it may also have a large Majorana mass term . Together with its Dirac mass , the seesaw mechanism gives a light neutrino mass . If no right-handed neutrino is retained, the same low-energy physics is encoded by the dimension-five Weinberg operator .
Now let be an electroweak scalar triplet with . Its weights are , and electric charge is , so its components have chargesIn the given matrix convention,Thus the electromagnetic-neutral direction satisfies and .
The gauge-invariant type-II seesaw mechanism Yukawa interaction isThe two lepton doublets have total hypercharge , which is cancelled by , and the displayed contraction is a singlet. Expanding it containsTherefore a neutral condensate preserves electromagnetism and generates a left-handed-neutrino Majorana mass term proportional to .