Sunday, June 11, 2017

integration - Fourier transform of Correlation Function


I'm reading some papers on spin-ice models and in a few of them, they state the correlation function of the polarization in momentum space (in 3D) as being


Pi(k)Pj(k)=1κ(δijkikj|k|2)


where κ is some constant. It is then stated that Fourier transforming this back to real space gives



Pi(0)Pj(r)=4πκ(δ3(r)+1r3(δij3xixj|x|2)).


I have two questions -


1) Why is the Fourier transform of $ = ?Igetthatthesystemistranslationallyinvariantandsoallcorrelationswillonlydependonthedifferencex-yandthatwecansety = 0$, but I can't explicitly relate these using a Fourier transform.


2) Similarly, where did the δ function come from after the Fourier transform to real space? I can't reproduce this result.



Answer



1) This is a standard QFT theorem, namely "translation invariance = momentum conservation", and it's proven in every QFT textbook. You prove it by computing the Fourier transform of the position space correlator: d3xd3yeipxeiky<Pi(x)Pj(y)>.

You now use translation invariance and show that the above integral is proportional to δ3(p+k). Then you define the momentum space correlator as (2π)3δ3(k+p)<Pi(k)Pj(k)>=d3xd3yeipxeiky<Pi(x)Pj(y)>
or $$< P_i(k) P_j(-k)> \;\; =\; \int d^3x \; e^{-i k\cdot x} \,.$$ I have probably missed a few factors of 2π here and there.


2) To see this, take the trace (I'm assuming that there are 3 polarizations, such that δ2ij=3). On top, you get δij<Pi(k)Pj(k)>=2κ=constant.

On the bottom, this kills the traceless part: δij<Pi(x)Pj(0)>=4πκδ3(x).
(There is a factor missing in front of the delta function, like δij×constant, but I've set it to one here.) To show that these expressions are equal, you have to show that the Fourier transform of a constant is a delta function. This is not so difficult. Good luck!


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