Let's say we have a massless QED theory with a Lagrangian
L=iˉψ⧸Dψ−14FμνFμν
The symmetric energy-momentum tensor is
Θμν=12ˉψ{γμDν+γνDμ}ψ−ημνiˉψ⧸Dψ−FμλFν λ+14ημνFσλFσλ
The trace of this operator is
Θμ μ=(1−d)iˉψ⧸Dψ+(d4−1)FσλFσλ
The fermionic part is zero if we use Dirac's equation, which can be stated as "The energy-momentum tensor is traceless on-shell". On the other hand, if we are working on a d=4 spacetime, the photon part is inmediately traceless.
The last equation works if Θμ μ is a quantum operator as well, since the equations of motion work for operators too. My question is: How is the path integral insertion ⟨Θμ μ⟩ not inmediately zero?
My preliminary answer is that when you actually calculate that using
⟨Θμ μ⟩=∫DψDAμΘμ μe−SE
the operator inside the path integral is not on-shell, which means that it is not zero. However, if we were working only with the photon field in d=4 then there's no way ⟨Θμ μ⟩ is not zero.
Is my reasoning correct?
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