On the gauge dependence of spontaneous symmetry breaking in gauge theories
1975; Elsevier BV; Volume: 101; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/0550-3213(75)90301-6
ISSN1873-1562
Autores Tópico(s)Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research
ResumoThe Ward-Takahashi identities for scalar electrodynamics in Fermi gauges are shown to imply a homogeneous first-order partial differential equation for the effective potential involving only the gauge parameter and the external scalar field. Spontaneous symmetry breaking is consequently a gauge-invariant phenomenon. Also observable quantities, including masses, physical coupling constants, and S-matrix elements, of a theory with spontaneous symmetry breaking are found to be invariant, if a change in the gauge parameter is accompanied by a suitable change in the ground-state expectation value of the scalar field. The generalization to a non-Abelian gauge theory is briefly indicated.
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