Friday, May 24, 2019

quantum field theory - Same U(1) charge for the SU(2) doublet


Consider the symmetry SUL(2)×UY(1). The entries of SUL(2) doublet will have same U(1)-charge. How can this be shown mathematically?



Answer



I) If a theory is declared to have a symmetry group G, it means more abstractly that the group G acts on the constituents (fields etc.) according to some rules and the theory (Lagrangian etc) stays invariant under such transformations.


II) Often the constituents (fields etc.) form a (linear) representations V of the group G. If the representation is (completely) reducible we can decompose it in irreps. The fundamental objects (fields etc) [that we consider] are for this reason often chosen to transform as irreps of the theory.


III) Now an irrep V of a product group G=G1×G2 is of the form of a tensor products VV1V2 of irrep V1 and V2 for the groups G1 and G2, respectively.



IV) The irreps of the Abelian group U(1) are all 1-dimensional and labelled by an integer nZ called the charge.


V) So to return to OP's question, in the electroweak theory with group G=SU(2)×U(1), the a field transform by definition as an irrep VV1V2 of SU(2)×U(1). In particular, the irrep V carries a U(1) charge, which (modulo various normalization conventions) is the weak hypercharge. To summarize: The main point is that the weak hypercharge is fixed by definition/construction.


VI) Perhaps the following comment is helpful: If we are given a tensor product V=V1V2, where we assume that (i) V is a (completely) reducible representation of SU(2)×U(1), (ii) V1 is an irrep of SU(2), and (iii) V2 is a 1-dimensional representation of U(1), it follows that V2 (and V) must be irreps as well. And hence V1 carries a fixed weak hypercharge.


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