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The connected correlation of three second-order density contrasts forms a triangle of three linear power spectra. It has eight Wick contractions. In one dimension, with $k_1+k_2+k_3=0$ and $P_L$ the power at the evaluation time,For the one-dimensional cosmological density kernel, its hard-loop integrand starts as $-k_1^2{k}_2^2{k}_3^2{P}_L(q{)}^3/q^6$.

The connected correlation of one fourth-order and two first-order density contrasts contracts a pair of inputs at the fourth-order vertex into a loop. For each choice of the fourth-order external field there are twelve Wick contractions. In one dimension,For the one-dimensional cosmological density kernel, $F_4=-k_3^4/(24k_1{k}_2{q}^2)$ exactly. Its leading cutoff dependence is therefore proportional to $k_3^2{F}_2(k_1,k_2)P_L(k_1)P_L(k_2)\int dq{P}_L(q)/q^2$.

If $G$ is a centered Gaussian random field, the transformation $G+\alpha (G^2-⟨G^2⟩)$ retains zero mean and introduces a three-point connected correlation function at first order in $\alpha$. Wick contractions give $2\alpha$ times the sum of products of two covariances. The corresponding local cosmological model uses $\alpha =3f_{\mathrm{NL}}/5$.

Put $C=ϵ+1-c_s^2$. For constant $H,ϵ,c_s>0$ and cubic interaction $H_{\mathrm{int}}=-M_{\mathrm{Pl}}^2\int d^{3}x{a}^3ϵC{\dot{\zeta }}^3/(H{c}_s^2)$, the Bunch-Davies vacuum modes $u_k=H(1+ik{c}_s\tau )e^{-ik{c}_s\tau }/\sqrt{4ϵM_{\mathrm{Pl}}^2{c}_s{k}^3}$ giveTo derive this primordial bispectrum, transform $dt=ad\tau$, $\dot{\zeta }={\zeta }^{\prime }/a$, use the six connected Wick contractions, and integrate ${\int }_{-\infty (1-i0)}^0{\tau }^2{e}^{i{c}_s(k_1+k_2+k_3)\tau }d\tau =2i/[c_s(k_1+k_2+k_3){]}^3$ in the in-in formalism. The normalized equilateral amplitude is $B(k,k,k)/P(k{)}^2=2C/9$; raw inverse powers of $c_s$ must not be confused with normalized primordial non-Gaussianity.

At second order in the coupling constant of a real phi cubed theory, the two-point numerator has eight fields, hence $7!!=105$ Wick contractions. Of these, six give a free external line times a vacuum theta graph, nine give a free line times a vacuum dumbbell, 36 give a two-line bubble, 36 give a connected tadpole attachment, and 18 give two separate one-point tadpoles. Dividing by $2!(3!{)}^2=72$ gives weights $1/12,1/8,1/2,1/2,1/4$. The normalized vacuum generating functional cancels the first two contributions, while the last remains in the full two-point correlation function as the product of one-point functions. Thus cancellation of vacuum bubbles does not, by itself, take the connected part.

For $H_{\mathrm{int}}=-M_{\mathrm{Pl}}^2\int d^{3}x{a}^3{ϵ}^2\zeta {\dot{\zeta }}^2$ and the standard Gaussian de Sitter modes, the tree in-in formalism gives $B=H^4{\sum }_{\mathrm{cyc}}{k}_2^2{k}_3^2(K^{-1}+k_1{K}^{-2})/[16ϵM_{\mathrm{Pl}}^4(k_1{k}_2{k}_3{)}^3]$, where $K={\sum }_i{k}_i$. The result includes six connected Wick contractions and a vacuum contour.

For approximately constant $H$ and $ϵ$, a vacuum-normalized curvature mode is $u_k(\tau )=H(1+ik\tau )e^{-ik\tau }/\sqrt{4ϵM_{\mathrm{Pl}}^2{k}^3}$. Its derivative is $u_k^{\prime }=H{k}^2\tau e^{-ik\tau }/\sqrt{4ϵM_{\mathrm{Pl}}^2{k}^3}$. Ordered unequal-time Wick contractions use the complex conjugate at the earlier vertex, consistently with the vacuum prescription for inflationary in-in integrals.

For three real scalar fields with field interaction term ${\mathcal{L}}_I=-\frac{1}{2}(g_1{\varphi }^2\Phi +g_2{\psi }^2\Phi )$ and mediator mass $M$, the connected tree-level Feynman diagram for $\varphi \psi \to \varphi \psi$ has one exchanged $\Phi$ and Mandelstam invariant $t=(p-p^{\prime }{)}^2$. Each vertex has a factor $-i{g}_j$: its two identical-field Wick contractions cancel the factor $1/2$. Thus $i\mathcal{M}=(-i{g}_1)(-i{g}_2)i/(t-M^2+i0)$. There is no $s$- or $u$-channel at this order because the interaction has no mixed $\varphi \psi \Phi$ vertex. Distinguishable external particles also require no exchange symmetrization.

A real chiral Majorana fermion with contraction $\psi (z)\psi (w)\sim 1/(z-w)$ has stress tensor $T=-:\psi \partial \psi :/2$. Fermionic Wick contractions give $T(z)\psi (w)\sim \psi (w)/(2(z-w{)}^2)+\partial \psi (w)/(z-w)$. Double contractions in $TT$ give $1/(4(z-w{)}^4)$, so the central charge is $1/2$. Fermion bilinears of different species are weight-one currents; equal-species undifferentiated bilinears vanish by antisymmetry.

For an isotropic, full-sky temperature map with a fixed bispectrum template $b=f_{\mathrm{NL}}{b}^1$, the inverse-variance-weighted cubic statistic has normalization $F=\frac{1}{6}\sum (b^1{)}^2{\mathcal{G}}^2/(C_1{C}_2{C}_3)$ over ordered triples. It is unbiased under the linear template relation and has Gaussian cosmic variance $1/F$. The factor $1/6$ counts the six cross-triple Wick contractions. A removed monopole cancels the nine internal-pairing terms; incomplete sky coverage or anisotropic noise generally require a linear correction.

The galaxy bispectrum measures the connected three-point correlation of the Fourier modes of the galaxy density contrast. For a mean-zero field, statistical homogeneity givesThe delta function enforces a closed wavevector triangle. With the additional assumption of statistical isotropy, one can write $B_g(k_1,k_2,k_3)$ as a function of triangle size and shape. Statistical homogeneity alone leaves possible orientation dependence.

The galaxy bispectrum adds information beyond the power spectrum. For example, take a zero-mean Gaussian random field $\delta$ and a local tracer model ${\delta }_g=b_1\delta +(b_2/2)({\delta }^2-⟨{\delta }^2⟩)$. Two Wick contractions at each quadratic insertion cancel its factor of two, yielding at leading orderThus nonlinear galaxy bias can generate a three-point signal even from Gaussian matter fluctuations. Nonlinear gravitational evolution supplies a further matter-bispectrum contribution. Both effects must be modeled before interpreting a measured galaxy three-point signal as primordial non-Gaussianity.^[ref]

Completing the square in the free scalar path integral gives a quadratic exponential in the source. If ${\Delta }_F$ includes the factor $i$ in the momentum-space Feynman propagator, the normalized Minkowski functional is $\exp [-\int J{\Delta }_{F}J/2]$. Two source derivatives with their $1/i^2$ factor recover ${\Delta }_F$, while higher derivatives give Wick contractions.

A normal-ordered product of free-field oscillator operators places all creation operators to the left of all annihilation operators, including the fermionic sign required to reorder fermions. Its vacuum expectation vanishes if any nontrivial oscillator factors remain. The Wick theorem expresses a free-field time-ordered product through these products and all Wick contractions.

Route the photon momentum as $l$ and the internal scalar momentum as $l+k$. The transverse projector obeys $P_{\alpha \beta }{l}^{\beta }=0$, so the two cubic vertices giveMultiplying the two vertices and propagators therefore givesFor the seagull, $g^{\alpha \beta }{P}_{\alpha \beta }=d-1$. Including the photon-loop symmetry factor gives insteadThe printed seagull coefficient is twice this result. The vertex's factor two differentiates the two photon fields; closing them into one line requires the compensating symmetry factor. Direct expansion of the action gives the same check: the interaction density $-e^2{A}^2{\varphi }^{†}\varphi$ has one photon contraction, yielding coefficient $-e^2$, not $-2e^2$. The identical-photon origin of the vertex factor is also explicit in the standard scalar-electrodynamics rules.^[ref] This discrepancy does not affect the massless-photon limit in part d or the ultraviolet pole in part f.

At first order the Dyson expansion inserts $i{S}_{\mathrm{int}}=\lambda \int d^{4}x{\bar{\psi }}_{\alpha }(x)({\gamma }_5{)}_{\alpha \beta }{\psi }_{\beta }(x)\varphi (x)$. Contract the scalar field at the vertex with the external scalar. The four remaining fermion fields have two admissible pairings: both external fermions attach to the vertex, or the two vertex fermions contract with each other while the external pair contracts freely. Wick's theorem givesThe minus sign in the second term is the fermion sign of the closed contraction: $⟨T{\bar{\psi }}_{\alpha }(x){\psi }_{\beta }(x)⟩=-i{S}_F(0{)}_{\beta \alpha }$. The first term is connected; the second is a scalar-attached fermion tadpole multiplied by a disconnected free external fermion propagator. The full time-ordered expectation includes both topologies, whereas the connected generating functional retains only the first. There is no order-${\lambda }^2$ contribution in this pure Yukawa expansion because the total number of scalar fields would be odd.

For a parity-preserving free propagator, the tadpole coefficient is $\mathrm{tr}[{\gamma }_5{S}_F(0)]$, whose integrand contains only $\mathrm{tr}{\gamma }_5$ and $\mathrm{tr}({\gamma }_5{\gamma }^{\mu })$. Both vanish. Thus the second term is a legitimate formal Wick contraction but is zero with a compatible regulator; normal ordering the interaction removes it from the outset.

Source paper: www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/oxford_physics_past_papers_2/response/2340696/attach/6/Physics%20Papers%202017.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1

The dated cover establishes Trinity Term 2018, despite the containing bundle's 2017 filename. Use natural units, the Minkowski metric $g=\mathrm{diag}(1,-1,-1,-1)$ and the Feynman i-epsilon prescription. In question 1(a), $D=4-ϵ$ and $e_D={\mu }^{ϵ/2}e$. The supplied transverse photon propagator selects Landau gauge within the Lorenz-gauge family. In question 2(a), distinguish the kernels in the stated generating functional from time-ordered Wick contractions, as explained below.

First fix a convention that is implicit in the source. For the stated free generating functionalthe time-ordered Wick contractions are $S_F=⟨T\psi \bar{\psi }{⟩}_0=-iS$ and ${\Delta }_F=⟨TAA{⟩}_0=-i\Delta$. These follow directly by the source differentiation rules in part (i). Thus the kernels called propagators in the question are distinguished here from the contractions, which already include their factors of $i$.

At first order in the QED interaction, write $a$ for its integration point. The normalized three-point correlation function isThe zeroth-order term vanishes because the free photon one-point correlation function is zero. There are two nonzero Wick contractions of the four fields:The first term pairs the two external fermions directly and closes the two fields at the interaction into a fermion loop; its minus sign is the closed fermion loop sign. The second term joins the external fermions through the interaction, giving the connected contribution. This is also obtained by differentiating the quartic term $(i\bar{\eta }S\eta {)}^2/2$ in the free generating functional; the two choices of bilinear cancel its factor $1/2$.

Insert $S_F=-iS$ and ${\Delta }_F=-i\Delta$. Since $(-ie)(-i{)}^3=e$, the result is exactlyThe trace term is a disconnected product of a photon tadpole diagram with the free external fermion propagator; the other term is the connected three-point correlation function. In this QED calculation the disconnected term vanishes, as established next. With a convention using $S_F,{\Delta }_F$ themselves as the symbols for the propagators, the equivalent formula retains the prefactor $-ie$ and the connected-minus-trace ordering above; mixing these two conventions would give an erroneous overall phase.

For commuting real scalar fields, remove the closed fermion loop sign and replace the Dirac propagators by scalar propagators. There are no spinor indices, hence no matrix trace. With two independent real scalar fields ${\chi }_1,{\chi }_2$ and interaction $g\varphi {\chi }_1{\chi }_2$, the same normalization givesThe overall sign has reversed relative to part (i) because $(ig{)}^2$ is now unaccompanied by a closed fermion loop sign. The same formula holds in the source's kernel convention, since there are again four propagators.

There is an additional convention to specify if the two symbols are intended to denote the same real scalar field. For the literal interaction $g\varphi {\chi }^2$, there are two identical connected Wick contractions between ${\chi }^2(x)$ and ${\chi }^2(y)$, so the coefficient becomes $-2g^2$. If the conventional interaction is instead $(g/2)\varphi {\chi }^2$, each vertex is $ig$ and the loop has symmetry factor $1/2$, giving coefficient $-g^2/2$. In both interpretations the closed fermion loop sign and spinor matrix trace disappear; the differing numerical factor comes from the interaction normalization and field identity.

For a finite-dimensional integral, $u_i{e}^{b\cdot u}={\partial }_{b_i}{e}^{b\cdot u}$. Expanding a polynomial interaction $V(u)$ formally and interchanging each finite-order derivative with the regulated integral giveswhere $I_0$ is the free Gaussian integral. This is a perturbation-series identity; it does not assert convergence of the full expansion for an arbitrary potential.

For the Minkowski functional integral, each field insertion is generated byExpand $e^{i{S}_I[\varphi ]}$, replace its field factors by these functional derivatives, and take the derivatives outside the free integral. The result is polynomial interactions as source differential operators:If the field interaction term contains derivatives of the field, the corresponding spacetime derivatives act on the source-insertion operators as well. For the scalar polynomial interactions the operator in the exponent isThe free quadratic source exponential then supplies all Wick contractions, reproducing the Feynman rules. For normalized correlation functions, divide the resulting interacting functional by $Z[0]$; the interaction operator changes this denominator too, so it cannot simply be ignored.

All three fields have mass $m$. In the interaction picture the quantum fields evolve with the free Hamiltonian operator, so their equations areThe interactions evolve the states instead. For $\chi \in \{\varphi ,\psi ,\Phi \}$ the appropriate mode expansion of a free field isIndependent species have commuting creation and annihilation operators. The full set of canonical commutation relations isThese follow from the separate equal-time canonical commutation relations for the three real scalar fields. For comparison, in the Heisenberg picture the full Euler-Lagrange field equations contain interactions: $(\square +m^2){\varphi }_H=-g{\varphi }_H{\Phi }_H$, $(\square +m^2){\psi }_H=-g{\psi }_H{\Phi }_H$, and $(\square +m^2){\Phi }_H=-\frac{g}{2}({\varphi }_H^2+{\psi }_H^2)$. These are distinct from the free equations used in the interaction picture.

There are no derivative couplings, so the interaction Hamiltonian is $H_I(t)=-\int d^{3}x{\mathcal{L}}_I(x)$. The interaction picture evolution operator obeysIterating its integral equation gives the Dyson seriesThe ordered integration region is equivalent to the unrestricted region with time ordering and the factor $1/n!$. Taking the scattering limit $t_0\to -\infty$, $t\to \infty$, with the usual adiabatic prescription for perturbation theory, therefore yields the S-matrixAll fields inside this expression are interaction picture fields.

Use relativistic normalization of a one-particle state and take $|i⟩=a_{\varphi }^{†}(\mathbf{p})a_{\psi }^{†}(\mathbf{q})|0⟩$, $|f⟩=a_{\varphi }^{†}({\mathbf{p}}^{\prime })a_{\psi }^{†}({\mathbf{q}}^{\prime })|0⟩$. Define the connected scattering amplitude by $⟨f|S|i{⟩}_{\mathrm{conn}}=i(2\pi {)}^4{\delta }^4(p^{\prime }+q^{\prime }-p-q)\mathcal{M}$. The identity contribution describes no scattering; the term linear in $g$ cannot connect these four external particles. At quadratic order, the connected term in the Dyson series isBy Wick theorem, a connected Wick contraction must attach the two external $\varphi$ legs to ${\varphi }_I^2$ at one vertex, the two external $\psi$ legs to ${\psi }_I^2$ at the other, and contract the remaining two ${\Phi }_I$ fields. The two assignments of species to $x,y$ cancel the Dyson factor $1/2!$. At either vertex, the $2!$ assignments of its identical fields to the incoming and outgoing particle cancel the interaction factor $1/2$. Equivalently, the coefficient $-g^2/8$ is multiplied by $2\times 2\times 2$, giving $-g^2$. Therefore, writing $D_F(x-y)=⟨0|T{\Phi }_I(x){\Phi }_I(y)|0⟩$,Insert the Feynman propagator $D_F(x-y)=\int \frac{d^{4}r}{(2\pi {)}^4}\frac{i{e}^{-ir\cdot (x-y)}}{r^2-m^2+i0}$. The two vertex integrals impose $r=p^{\prime }-p$ and $p^{\prime }+q^{\prime }=p+q$. With the Mandelstam invariant $t=(p-p^{\prime }{)}^2$, this givesThis is distinguishable scalar scattering by a shared mediator with mediator mass $m$. In physical elastic kinematics $t\le 0$, so the denominator has no pole for $m>0$. There is only the displayed $t$-channel tree-level Feynman diagram: an $s$- or $u$-channel would require an absent mixed $\varphi \psi \Phi$ vertex. Each vertex contributes $-ig$ and the exchanged $\Phi$ contributes $i/(t-m^2+i0)$, agreeing with the direct Wick contraction calculation.