All Questions
3
questions
10
votes
2
answers
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Counting massive degrees of freedom after gauge fixing
Consider the theory of scalar QED with the Lagrangian
$$\mathcal{L} = - \frac14 F^{\mu\nu} F_{\mu\nu} + (D^\mu \phi)^* (D_\mu \phi) - m^2 \phi^* \phi \tag{1}$$
where $\phi$ is a complex scalar field ...
- 103k
19
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Gauge-fixing of an arbitrary field: off-shell & on-shell degrees of freedom
How to count the number of degrees of freedom of an arbitrary field (vector or tensor)? In other words, what is the mathematical procedure of gauge fixing?
- 291
18
votes
1
answer
4k
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Gauge fixing and degrees of freedom
Today, my friend (@Will) posed a very intriguing question -
Consider a complex scalar field theory with a $U(1)$ gauge field $(A_\mu, \phi, \phi^*)$. The idea of gauge freedom is that two solutions ...
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