Physics 742, Standard Model: Homework #1

due someday

1. Higgs triplet models. In an adjoining patch of the string theory landscape,

physics is governed by a cousin of the standard model (SM) with gauge group SU(2)SU(3),
where SU(2) is broken only by a Higgs triplet a . A convenient basis of generators is
that where one generator is symmetric, one is antisymmetric and the third is given by
diag(1, 0, 1), just like the angular momentum matrices in quantum mechanics for ` = 1.
In this basis it might be intuitive to label the components of as 1,0,1 . Write explicitly
the three generators. (They are given in problem 2.5 of the textbook.)

Note that a triplet Higgs can either be real or complex since SU(2) is isomorphic to
SO(3). We know that rotations leave a real vector real. Assume the Higgs is complex here.

(a) Argue that the VEV can always be rotated into the middle component h0 i = v,
such that the diagonal generator gives zero when acting upon hi, and assume this in
the following. Take v to be the VEV of the complex field (unlike our convention in the
SM). What is the symmetry breaking pattern in this model? (That is, what does SU(2)
break down to?) Find the spectrum of the gauge bosons. How do they transform under
any residual symmetry after the breaking (i.e., what are their charges)? Note: according
to Goldstones theorem, the unbroken generators are the ones with the property that
ta hi = 0. These generate any residual symmetries.

To better understand this part, it might be instructive to look at how the VEV trans-
forms under an infinitesimal SU(2) gauge symmetry, to identify which fields are the Gold-
stone bosons, and which are physical. You can set the Goldstone bosons to zero. It is
also useful to combine W1 t1 + W2 t2 into complex fields W and see how the 3 3 matrix
for these fields looks in terms of the charged gauge bosons.
(b) Assume that the left-handed quarks and leptons are doublets of SU(2) (like in
the SM). Show that gauge invariance, combined with other symmetries, forbids Yukawa
couplings of to quarks or leptons except for one, which is one of the following interactions
(what is wrong with the other one?):

y a L a L, y a L ( a )  Lc

where Lc
particles. This is called a Majorana mass term. Explain how it is consistent with the
residual symmetry of the model. Would such a mass term be possible for higher SU(N)
gauge symmetries? Is the analogous mass term allowed for the quarks?

(d) Supposing that gv  M , find the branching ratios for the decays of the heavy
gauge bosons into quarks and leptons. Assume that the Higgs bosons are too heavy to be
decay products of the gauge bosons.

(e) The quarks have an interesting effect on the theory once we account for the con-
fining properties of QCD. The strong interactions cause a nonzero vacuum expectation
value for the quark bilinear
hQL, qR i =
6 0
where the color indices (not shown) are contracted in a gauge-invariant way, while only
the SU(2) index is shown. This quantity thus transforms as a doublet under SU(2),
and it has the same effect as if there were also a doublet Higgs H getting a VEV. In fact
we can think of the Qq bound state as being like a composite doublet Higgs particle, that
gets a VEV (w1 , w2 ). Recalculate the spectrum of the gauge bosons in this case. Is it
possible to maintain any residual gauge symmetry if wi 6= 0?
(This phenomenon also occurs in the SM, but the quark condensate contribution to
the VEV is negligible compared to that of the actual Higgs boson.)
(f) If the quarks were in the triplet representation of SU(2), then the new VEV wi
~ Find the spectrum
would also be a triplet. For simplicity, suppose it is orthogonal to hi.
of gauge bosons in this case. This is somewhat difficult to do in the basis of generators
we have been using so far. Instead choose the basis where (Ta )ij = aij . Then it is easy
to compute Ta Ta for each a to find the contributions to the mass squared of the Wa
gauge boson. Show that h iTa Tb hi = 0 for the off-diagonal mass matrix entries, if
hi = (w, 0, 0)T or (0, v, 0)T .

(g) Suppose there are two Higgs triplets that get orthogonal VEVs similarly to part
(f), but now let them both be fundamental scalars, and ignore any additional symmetry
breaking from quark condensates. Further suppose there is one generation each of quarks
and leptons, with the left-handed fermions transforming as triplets of SU(2). Write down
the possible Yukawa interactions. What is the fermion mass spectrum after electroweak
symmetry breaking? Which particles are stable under weak interactions? Assume the
quarks are heavier than the leptons, and label the nonzero components of the VEVs as
h11 i = v, h22 i = w.

2. Compute the branching ratios for Z boson decays into hadrons, e+ e and neutrinos.
Compare to the PDG values.
Physics 742: Standard Model.
Homework 1. Solutions.

1 Problem 1
1.1 Question a (7 points)
We use the generators

0 1 0 0 i 0 1 0 0
1 1
L1 = 1 0 1 , L2 = i 0 i , L3 = 0 0 0 . (1)
2 0 1 0 2 0 i 0 0 0 1

Choosing the VEV:

SU (2)
= SU (3) = group of rotations about the origin of R3 . This is isotropic: there
is no preferred direction. Thus, we can choose the VEV at our convenience.
Symmetry breaking:
As L1 hi, L2 hi =
6 0 but L3 hi = 0, SU (2) breaks to U (1).
Spectrum of the gauge bosons:
The covariant derivative is given by

D = ig[W , ], W Wa La , a = 1, 2, 3. (2)

Thus, the kinetic term is

(D ) (D ) = g 2 W W + other terms. (3)

1
Taking a closer look at the mass term above, we see that
(
v 2 if a = b = 1, a = b = 2,
La Lb = (4)
0 otherwise.

This means mW3 = 0. It also implies

1
g 2 v 2 (W1 W1 + W2 W2 ) = (m2W1 W1 W1 + m2W2 W2 W2 ). (5)
2
Hence,

mW1 = mW2 = 2gv. (6)

Charges of the gauge bosons:

1
1
L3 0 = 0 . (7)
1 1

Thus, 1 has charge 1 and 0 charge zero.

1.2 Question b (3 points)

Allowed interaction:
The second. The first one violates Loentz symmetry due to LL LL type terms.
Charges:
         
3 L 1 L 3 u 1 u 1 0
= , = , 3 = . (8)
2 eL 2 eL 2 d 2 d 0 1

Hence, L , u have charge 1/2 and eL , d charge 1/2.

1.3 Question c (4 points)

Invariance under SU (2):
We have the folloing transformations:

L U L, L LU , U SU (2). (9)

Then, it follows that

Lc = C LT C(LU )T = CU LT = U LC . (10)

2
Using which, we can see that

 L L  L U U LC C
=  L detU L =  L L . (11)

Neutrality under U (1):

L1 , L2 , LC C
2 have charge 1/2 under U (1). L2 , L1 , L1 have charge 1/2 under U (1).
Hence, L1 LC C
2 , L2 L1 have charge zero under U (1).
Higher SU (N ):
This is not possible, as it would require more than two indices for the epsilon tensor,
which would remain uncontracted.
Quarks:
Quarks have a SU (3) of color symmetry. As argued above, this is not possible.

1.4 Question d (2 points)

This is just about counting number of channels. The gauge boson can decay into
either a pair of leptons or a pair of quarks, with equal probability for both options.
Since the quarks have three colors, decay into a pair of quarks will be three times
more likely than decay into a pair of leptons. Further, the addition of probabilities
must be one. It follows then that the branching ratio for leptons is 1/4 and that of
quarks 3/4.

1.5 Question e (3 points)

Spectrum:
We call the new VEV hi (1 , 2 )T . The covariant derivative is as before and the
relevant kinetic term is

(D ) (D ) = g 2 W W + other terms, (12)

but the key point now is to notice that

a
W Wa , a = 1, 2, 3, { } = Pauli matrices. (13)
2
Just doing the algebra, we get
2
2 |1 | + |2 |2
2
g W W = g (W1 W1 + W2 W2 + W3 W3 ). (14)
4
But this is simply
1 2
(mW1 W1 W1 + m2W2 W2 W2 + m2W3 W3 W3 ). (15)
2

3
Hence,
r
|1 |2 + |2 |2
mWa = g a = 1, 2, 3. (16)
2
The total mass will be the addition of the mass in section a to the above.
Residual symmetries:
As
3
hi =
6 0 if 1 , 2 6= 0, (17)
2
there is no residual symmetry in this case.

1.6 Question f (3 points)

Spectrum of the gauge bosons:
The generators are (Ta )ij = aij . Explicitly,

0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
T1 = 0 0 1 , T2 = 0 0 0 , T3 = 1 0 0 . (18)
0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

Thus,

0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
T1 T1 = 0 0 1 , T2 T2 = 0 0 1 , T3 T3 = 0 1 0 . (19)
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

For hi = (, 0, 0)T , we have

(
0 if a = 1,
hi Ta Ta hi = (20)
2 otherwise.

For hi = (0, v, 0)T , we have

(
v 2 if a = 1, 3,
hi Ta Ta hi = (21)
0 otherwise.

Hence,

mW1 = 2gv, mW2 = 2g, mW3 = 2g v 2 + 2 . (22)

Vanishing of crossed terms:

4
By explicit computation, we have

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
T1 T2 = 1 0 0 , T1 T3 = 0 0 0 , T2 T1 = 0 0 0 ,
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
(23)
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
T2 T3 = 0 0 0 , T3 T1 = 0 0 0 , T3 T2 = 0 0 1 .
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

For hi = (, 0, 0)T , we have

0 0
T1 T2 hi = , T1 T3 hi = 0 (24)
0

and

T2 T1 hi = T2 T3 hi = T3 T1 hi = T3 T2 hi = 0. (25)

Now,

hi T1 T2 hi = hi T1 T3 hi = 0. (26)

Similarly, for hi = (0, v, 0)T , we have

v 0
T2 T1 hi = 0 , T2 T3 hi = 0 (27)
0 v

and

T1 T2 hi = T1 T3 hi = T3 T1 hi = T3 T2 hi = 0. (28)

Now,

hi T2 T1 hi = hi T2 T3 hi = 0. (29)

1.7 Question g (4 points)

Possible Yukawa interactions:
For quarks,

1q QL 1 QR + 2q QL 2 QR . (30)

For letptons,

1l LL 1 LR + 2l LL 2 LR . (31)

5
Here, s are the different coupling constants, Q, L are the quark and lepton 3-entry
vectors (every entry is for a different flavour). The subindices L, R denote the hand-
edness: left and right, respectively.
Fermion mass spectrum:
Looking at the lepton terms at the VEV, we have

1l v L1L L1R + 2l L2L L2R , (32)

where the superindices refer to the flavour of the lepton. These terms are Dirac mass
type of terms, i.e.

mL1 L1L L1R + mL2 L2L L2R + mL3 L3L L3R . (33)

Comparing these two, it follows that

ml1 = 1L v, ml2 = 2L , ml3 = 0. (34)

Stability:
Rather obviously, massless particles are stable. Further, the lightest lepton will be
stable too, as there is no possible decay that will respect charge conservation.

2 Problem 2 (4 points)
As was discussed in class,

(Z fi fi ) NC,i gi2
BR = P =
P 2
, (35)
i (Z fi fi ) i NC,i gi

where NC,i is the color charge corresponding to the i-th fermion and

gi2 = (t3 s2 Q)2 + (s2 Q)2 , (36)

with t3 the isospin, Q the charge and s2 = 0.23. We note that the Z boson may decay
into any fermion except for the top quark, due to its large mass. Then, the values of
t3 , Q, gi2 for the relevant fermions are

Fermions t3 Q gi2
e, , 1/2 1 0.13
u, c 1/2 2/3 0.14
d, s, b 1/2 1/3 0.19
e , , 1/2 0 0.25

6
Using these values, we have
X
NC,i gi2 = 3 0.13 + 3 2 0.14 + 3 3 0.19 + 3 0.25 = 3.66. (37)
i

And, similarly,

3 2 0.14 + 3 3 0.19 for hadrons,

2
NC,i gi = 0.13 for electron, positron, (38)

3 0.25 for neutrinos.

Putting everything together we see that

69.2% for hadrons,

BR = 3.4% for electron, positron, (39)

20.5% for neutrinos.

These values wither overlap (within the error) or have a discrepancy of less than
2% with the PDG tabulated ones. Thus, the agreement of our computation with
experimental data is excellent.

7
 Physics 742, Standard Model: Homework #2

1. (a) Compute the partial widths for the Higgs boson to decay to bb, and cc.
Assume mh = 125 GeV. You can use the PDG values for the quark masses
http://pdg.lbl.gov/2015/tables/rpp2015-sum-quarks.pdf.
Take the MS value of mb . Compare your results to those in
https://twiki.cern.ch/twiki/bin/view/LHCPhysics/CERNYellowReportPageBR3.
The total width of the SM Higgs boson is supposed to be 4.07 MeV if mh = 125 GeV.
(b) Naively, these should be the main decay channels; explain why. Compare to fig. 2 of
https://twiki.cern.ch/twiki/bin/view/LHCPhysics/CrossSections. There is a significant
branching into gluon pairs, even though there is no tree-level coupling of the Higgs to
gluons in the standard model. Find out why. Draw the relevant Feynman diagram.

2. Notice that in the previously mentioned figure, the BR to W W is significant even

though mH < 2mW . This is because W W really means W W where W is off-shell and
decays to quarks or leptons. In this problem we will try to compute BR(H W W ) by
considering the 3-body decay h W e+ . Recall that the total decay width of W is
about 9 times larger than (W e+ ). Therefore we can estimate BR(h W W ) =
+
18 BR(h W e ), where the extra factor of 2 takes into account that either the W +
or the W can be on shell.
(a) Write the Feynman diagram and the amplitude for h W e+ .
(b) Use FeynCalc to compute the matrix element squared, in particular to sum over the
polarizations of the W and the fermions. You can take the massless approximation for the
fermions. It might be convenient to label the momenta of the W, e, as p1,2,3 respectively.
For applying the Dalitz procedure in the next part, you will have to express the squared
amplitude as a function of m212 and m223 , eliminating m213 in favor of these. The resulting
squared amplitude, summed over final polarizations, should be relatively simple (after
simplification). Include a printout of your Mathematica notebook.
(c) With the result of (b), use the Dalitz procedure described in
http://pdg.lbl.gov/2015/reviews/rpp2014-rev-kinematics.pdf to integrate over the 3-body
phase space and obtain the partial width. The integral over m223 can be done analytically
(using Mathematica) but the remaining integral over m212 must be done numerically. Ver-
ify that the integrand for this last integration is everywhere positive by plotting it, before
integrating it. Why must it be positive? Compare your result for the partial width to the
tabulated value at
https://twiki.cern.ch/twiki/bin/view/LHCPhysics/CERNYellowReportPageBR3.

3. A simple model of dark matter is a real scalar field S, that can couple to the Higgs
boson through the interaction 12 SH S 2 |H|2 . Suppose that S has a mass between mb and
mt so that the dominant annihilation channel is SS bb through a virtual Higgs in the
s-channel. Compute the cross section for this process to leading order in v, where v is
the center-of-mass velocity of either of the two annihilating particles. Using a classical
picture of the scattering cross section, argue why the rate of annihilation per S particle
is nv, where n is the number density of S.
Physics 742: Standard Model.
Homework 2. Solutions.

1 Problem 1
1.1 Question a (7 points)
The decay rate of the Higgs field (in its center-of-mass frame) to a given flavour of
fermion is given by equation (4.59) in [1]:
3/2
4m2f

mH  mf 2
(H f f ) = Nc 1 2 , (1)
8 v mH

where mH = 125 GeV, v = 246 GeV,

2.8 GeV for f = b,
(
3 for f = b, c,
Nc = mf = 0.61 GeV for f = c, (2)
1 for f = ,
1.7 GeV for f = .

The values of mf are those corresponding to the above mentioned mass of the Higgs.
These values follow from interpolation between the mf values at the mass of the Z
boson and the t quark given in [2]. The interpolation is done as follows:

ln(mH /mZ )
mf mf (mH ) = mf (mZ ) + (mf (mt ) mf (mZ )) , (3)
ln(mt /mZ )

1
where mZ = 91.2 GeV, mt = 173.5 GeV,

2.89 GeV for f = b,
2.75 GeV for f = b,

mf (mZ ) = 0.619 GeV for f = c, mf (mt ) = 0.590 GeV for f = c, (4)

1.746 GeV for f = , 1.742 GeV for f = .

The partial widths are then given by

0.48 for f = b,
(H f f)
= 0.022 for f = c, (5)
tot
0.061 for f = ,

where tot = 4.07 GeV. For f = c, our results are in good agreement with the
theoretical values given. However, the agreement is not that good for f = b. This
must be because a higher order process is contributing significantly.

1.2 Question b (3 points)

These should be the main decay channels because they are the highest decay products
mass tree-level processes. However, the Higgs decay to two gluons through a top quark
loop is roughly as dominant a process in spite of being higher order due to the large
mass of this quark.

Figure 1: Relevant Feynman diagram.

2
2 Problem 2
2.1 Question a (2 points)
The amplitude corresponding to the Feynman diagram shown in the figure, in the
unitary gauge and using the mostly positive metric is

m2W (i)( + pm2p )

M = 1 (2i )  (pW , sW ) 2
W
2
v } | {z } |(ph pW{z) + mW}
|{z}
ingoing Higgs | {z
hWW vertex outgoing W
W propagator
5
use (pe ) (eW ) (1 + ) vs (p ) . (6)
| {z } | {z } | {z }
outgoing e Wev vertex outgoing

Figure 2: Relevant Feynman diagram.

2.2 Question b (4 points)

See the Mathematica notebook.

2.3 Question c (4 points)

See the Mathematica notebook.
The integrand should be positive because its physical interpretation is that of
a density probability. The agreement with the PDG data is good: less than 5%
disagreement.

3 Problem 3
3.1 Question a (8 points)
The Feynman rule for the dark matter vertex is (iSH v, where v = 246 GeV. The
matrix element at center-of-mass energy squared s is
1 mb
iM = (iSH v) us (p b )(i )vsb (pb ) (7)
s m2H b
v

3
and its square is
 2
2 SH mb
|M| = usb (pb )vsb (pb )vsb (pb )usb (pb ). (8)
s m2H
The spin summed squared matrix element is
 2 h
X
2 SH mb i
|M| = Tr ( p
/b + m )(p
b /b m b ) (9)
sb ,sb
s m2H
 2
2SH mb
= 2
(pb pb m2b ) (10)
s mH
 2
2SH mb  s 2

= 2m b . (11)
s m2H 2
The differential cross-section is then
d 1 X
= 2
|M|2 , (12)
dt 64s|ps | s ,s
b b

with ps in the center-of-mass frame. It follows that the total cross section is
Z t0
d d
= dt = (t0 t1 ), (13)
t1 dt dt
where the last step uses the fact that the differential cross-section is time-independent.
Here,
r
2 2 s
t0 = (ps pb ) , t1 = (ps + pb ) , px = m2x for x = s, b. (14)
4
Using this, we get
r r
s s
t0 t1 = 4 m2s m2b . (15)
4 4
Putting everything together,
 2  1/2
1 SH mb s 2
3/2  s
2
= mb m s . (16)
2s s m2H 4 4
We now expand s in a series of powers of the velocity v 0 , around v 0 = 0:
4m2s
s= 02
4m2s (1 + v 02 ). (17)
1v
Keeping only the leading order in v 0 , the total cross-section is given by
 2
1 SH mb 1
3 2 2
(m2s m2b )3/2 0 . (18)
8ms 4ms mH v

4
3.2 Question b (2 points)
The number of particles scattering (annihilating) in a time t is the number in a
cylinder of cross-sectional area and length vt, with v the velocity of the particles.

References
[1] C. Burgess and G. Moore, The Standard Model: A Primer, Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, 3rd edition, (2013).

[2] Z. z. Xing, H. Zhang and S. Zhou, Phys. Rev. D 77, 113016 (2008),
[arXiv:0712.1419 [hep-ph]].

5
 Physics 742, Standard Model: Homework #3

1. Top quark decay. Compute the width for t qW . Do you expect the massless
quark approximation to be good for the final state quark? (Think about the correction to
the phase space, which is of the same order as the correction to the matrix element.) How
does your result compare to the PDG value? Use FeynCalc and do the problem exactly
with mb = 4.2 GeV. Compare to the mb = 0 approximation.
Study the textbook discussion about decay of W + . We would like to use the branching
ratio for W + e+ e to estimate the partial width for top quarks to decay to a quark
and `+ ` , where ` is any lepton. PDG gives the branching ratio 9.4 2.4%. How does
this compare to the theoretical prediction?

2. Polarized top quark decay. Suppose the decaying top quark has its spin in the
z direction. Employ the spin projection operator = (1 + 5 /s)/2 introduced in lecture.
Use FeynCalc to compute and plot the differential decay rate d/d as a function of .
Does it respect parity? (Recall how spin transforms under parity. If you dont recall,
think of a spinning top.) Integrate to show that the total rate agrees with your result
from problem 1.

3. Semileptonic b quark decay. b quark decays can be observed by decays of the

associated mesons, B + = ub or B 0 = db. For B 0 decays, one might hope that the d quark is
just a spectator and the decay of the meson is governed by that of the b quark alone. Why
might this argument fail for the B + ? Nevertheless, the branching ratio for B + `+ ` X,
where X stands for anything, is nearly the same as that for B 0 `+ ` X (see PDG listings,
http://pdg.lbl.gov/2015/tables/rpp2015-tab-mesons-bottom.pdf.) Can you understand
this number in terms of the number of available decay channels for the virtual W ?
Consider the decay of a free b quark to cee as an approximation for decay of a meson
containing the b. By delaying the final integral over m212 = (pq +p )2 as discussed in lecture,
find and plot the differential decay rate with respect to the electron energy, d/dEe as
a function of Ee . Use FeynCalc or similar. Notice that it is a good approximation to
neglect the momentum of the W boson for simplifying the amplitude. You can assume
massless leptons but not massless c quark. Dont forget CKM.
Integrate the previous result to find the partial width of free b quarks into e+ e .
Compare to the PDG values for the B mesons.
Physics 742: Standard Model.
Homework 3. Solutions.

1 Problem 1 (10 points)

For the computation of the width for t qW , see the Mathematica notebook.
Regarding the massless approximation:
We look at the correction to the phase space only, as suggested. That is, we look at
the effect of mq in |~pq |. Energy conservation dictates
q p
mt = |~pq |2 + m2q + |~pw |2 + m2w . (1)

In the rest frame of t, the above is

q q
mt = |~pq | + mq + |~pq |2 + m2w .
2 2 (2)

Squaring twice the above and rearranging, we get

2
m2t m2w

2 1
|~pq | = [(m2t m2w )2 2m2q (m2t + m2w ) + m4q ] , (3)
4m2t 2mt
where the last step follows from numerical substitution. Thus, we do expect the
massless approximation to be good.
Regarding the BR discussion:
BR(t l l+ b) BR(t W + b) BR(W + l l+ ) 1 0.11 = 0.11. (4)
This agrees with the PDG value, within the error. Hence, the approximations above
produce precise agreement to data.

1
2 Problem 2 (10 points)
For the computation (and plot) of d/d (as a function of ) and for the integration
part leading to agreement with results in problem 1, see the Mathematica notebook.
Regarding parity:
The spin operator s appears non-trivially in our computation only through its product
with momenta:

s pb = |~pb | cos , s pw = |~pb | cos , [0, ]. (5)

Here, is the angle with respect to the z-axis. Parity acts on space coordinates as

P : (x, y, z) (x, y, z). (6)

When acting on , thus

P : = P : cos cos , (7)

which is not invariant. Consequently, we do not expect our result to preserve parity
in general. This is confirmed by looking at the plot: the curve is not symmetric about
= /2.

3 Problem 3 (10 points)

Failure of the argument for B + :
There exists no neutral-current, flavor-changing gauge boson that could mediate at
tree-level between d, b.
BR(B + l l+ X) BR(B 0 l l+ X) BR(W + l l+ ) 0.1, explanation:
b decaying into a virtual W + (and c) allows for the same final decay products as an
on-shell W + , by virtue of energy conservation.
For the computation (and plot) of d/dEe (as a function of Ee ), see the Mathe-
matica notebook. The agreement with PDG is poor (our value is lower by a factor
between 1.5 and 2). This implies that the approximations used in the computation
are not really justified: they simply provide a rough, right order of magnitude result.

2
 Physics 742, Standard Model: Homework #4

1. Running of yb . (a) Defining the tree level amplitude for h bb as iyb ub vb ,

evaluate the vertex correction for the off-shell amplitude where h has momentum q and
the quarks each have q/2. Assume that q 2  mb so that quark masses can be ignored.
You can use a momentum space cutoff or some other regulator if you prefer. You should
find that the correction just from the vertex diagram is

2
!
4s
iyb ln 2 + . . .
3 q

where the dots represent terms that do not depend upon q.

(b) Show that the correction from renormalization of the external quark leg (but not
counting the antiquark) is
2
!
s
+yb ln 2 + . . .
3 q
Of course the antiquark leg contribution is just the same, but as discussed in lecture, only
half of each should be counted toward the correction to the vertex.
(c) The beta function can be thought of as dyb (q 2 )/d ln q 2 , where yb (q 2 ) is the effective
coupling that takes into account the scale-dependence from the loops. Show that your
result agrees with eqs. (2,3) of http://arxiv.org/pdf/0712.1419.pdf.
(d) Estimate the appropriate value of yb to use at the scale q = mZ by considering
yb (m2Z ) yb (m2b ) according to the previous results. Compare to the value in table IV of
the above paper.

2. A more accurate estimate can be found by integrating the beta function. This is
problem 7.1 of the textbook. Carry this out, and also evaluate yb (m2Z ) to compare to the
results of the previous problem.

3. Above the electroweak symmetry breaking scale, one could treat the SU(2) gauge
bosons as being massless. Since the Yukawa interaction couples Higgs to bL bR or bR bL ,
while the SU(2) gauge bosons couple only to bL , the vertex correction analogous to
that in problem 1 vanishes. Hence one might argue that only the correction to the
external bL quark line is present. Rescaling by the appropriate color factor Ta Ta =
(N 2 1)/(2N ) this would predict that the correction to yb from the SU(2) interaction is
+(3 yb w /32) ln(2 /q 2 ) where w = g22 /4. However this is not the right answer. Why
not? (Hint: there is a missing diagram: what is it?) Do you expect a similar problem
to prevent you from rescaling your results from problem 1 to the analogous correction for
the U(1) interaction?
Physics 742: Standard Model.
Homework 4. Solutions.

1 Problem 1
1.1 Question a (5 points)
We wish to consider the amplitude for diagram A, under the assumption mb = 0:
" #" #
Z
d4
l i( q
/ /2 + /
l ) i( q
/ /2 /
l )
iM = (iyb )ub (igs )TA
(2)4 (q/2 + l)2 (q/2 l)2
 
i
(igs )TA vb . (1)
l2
We can write the above more compactly as

iM = yb ub vb gs2 TA TA I, (2)

where we have defined

d4 l (/q/2 + /l)(/q/2 /l)
Z
I . (3)
(2)4 (q/2 + l)2 (q/2 l)2 l2
For SU (3), we have
X 4
TA TA := Tr( TA TA ) = . (4)
A
3

1
Also, we know that

gs2 = 4s . (5)

Thus, we have
16
iM = s yb ub vb I. (6)
3
In the following, we work out only the leading order divergent part of I. We start
by simplifying its numerator:

N (/q/2 + /l)(/q/2 /l) = 4(q/2 + l)(q/2 l) = q 2 4l2 . (7)

We use the Feynman integral formalism for the denominator:

D (q/2 + l)2 (q/2 l)2 l2

Z 1 Z 1x
= 2 dx dy[x(q/2 + l)2 + y(q/2 l)2 + (1 x y)l2 ]3
Z0 1 Z0 1x
= 2 dx dy(k 2 )3 , (8)
0 0

where we have defined

q q2
k l + (x y), [(x y)2 (x + y)]. (9)
2 4
Thus, we have
1 1x
d4 l q 2 4l2
Z Z Z
I=2 dx dy . (10)
(2)4 0 0 (k 2 )3
Changing the integration variable from l to k, we have
Z 1 Z 1x
d4 k 4k 2
Z
I=2 dx dy , (11)
(2)4 0 0 (k 2 )3
where we have omitted the linear term in k, as it vanishes upon integrating over k.
We have also omitted terms independent of k, as those are finite. We now do a Wick
rotation:

k00 = ik0 . (12)

Then, the integral becomes

Z 4 0 Z 1 Z 1x
dk k 02
I = 8i dx dy 02 . (13)
(2)4 0 0 (k )3

2
To do the k 0 integral, we regulate with a cut-off 2 , as suggested in the class:
Z Z Z 2 Z 2
4 0 0 03
dk = d 3
dk k = 2 2
dk 0 k 03 . (14)
0 0

Using this,
1 1x 2 1 1x
k 05 2
Z Z Z Z Z
i 0 i
I= 2 dx dy dk 02 3
= 2 dx dy ln , (15)
0 0 0 (k ) 2 0 0 q2
where we have again omitted finite terms and our result only holds true in the large
2 limit. Doing the x, y integrals is now trivial. We obtain
i 2
I= ln . (16)
4 2 q 2
Putting everything together, we get the desired result:
4i 2
iM = s yb ub vb ln 2 . (17)
3 q

1.2 Question b (5 points)

We wish to consider the amplitude for diagram B, under the assumption mb = 0:
" #
4 i( q /2 /
l i/q/2
Z 
d l /
iM = (iyb )ub (igs )TA
(2)4 (q/2 l)2 (q/2)2
 
i
(igs )TA vb . (18)
l2
Using (4) and (5), the above is
16 4
iM = s yb ub vb J 2 , (19)
3 q
where we have defined
d4 l (/q/2 /l)(/q/2)
Z
J . (20)
(2)4 (q/2 l)2 l2
The numerator above is

n (/q/2 /l)(/q/2) = lq q 2 /2. (21)

The denominator can be rewritten as

Z 1 Z 1
2 2
d (q/2 l) l = 2 2 2
dx[x(l q/2) + (1 x)l ] = 2 ,
dx(k 2 ) (22)
0 0

3
where we have defined
q q2
k l x, x(x 1). (23)
2 4
Thus, we have
1
d4 l lq q 2 /2
Z Z
J= dx . (24)
(2)4 0 2
(k 2 )
Changing the integration variable from l to k, our integral is
Z 1
d4 k x 1 g2
Z
J= ds , (25)
(2)4 0 2 2
(k 2 )
where we have omitted the term linear in k, since that vanishes upon integrating over
k. Further doing the Wick rotation (12), we have
Z 4 0 Z 1
q2 d k 1x
J = i dx . (26)
2 (2) 04 2 2
(k )
Then, using (14) too, we get
Z 1 Z 2 03 Z 1
q2 1 0 (1 x)k q2 1 2
J = i dx dk = i (1 x) ln 2 . (27)
2 8 2 0 0 2
(k 2 ) 2 16 2 0 q
Here, we have omitted finite terms and our result only holds true in the large 2
limit. Doing the x integral,
q2 1 2
J = i ln . (28)
4 16 2 q 2
Putting everything together, we obtain the desired result:
is 2
iM = yb ub vb ln 2 . (29)
3 q

1.3 Question c (5 points)

Combining our previous results, we have
s 2 s 2 s 2
yb (q 2 ) = yb (1 + ln 2 ) = yb (1 + ln 2 + ln 2 ), (30)
q q
for some energy scale 2 . The corresponding -function is
dyb (q 2 ) s
(q 2 ) = 2
= yb . (31)
d ln(q )
The above matches the cited paper precisely, to lowest order.

4
1.4 Question d (5 points)
We have that
s m2b mb
yb (m2Z ) yb (m2b ) = yb0 ln 2 , yb0 = , (32)
mZ v
where v = 246 GeV. Under the approximation

yb (m2b ) yb0 , (33)

it follows that
s m2b
yb (m2Z ) = yb0 (1 + ln 2 ). (34)
mZ
The coupling constants are proportional to the masses. Hence,

s m2b
mb (m2Z ) = m0b (1 + ln 2 ). (35)
mZ
Using the numerical values

m0b = 4.18 GeV, s = 0.118, mb = 4.18 GeV, mZ = 91.2 GeV, (36)

we get

mb (m2Z ) = 3.2 GeV. (37)

The cited paper gives a value

mb (m2Z ) = (2.89 0.09) GeV. (38)

The relative error between our result and that in the paper is
|3.2 2.89|
Er = 100 11%. (39)
2.89
That is, our approximation (33) gives a correct order of magnitude estimate only and
not a precise match with the real value.

2 Problem 2 (6 points)
We want to solve
(
dg
d
3
= Ag33 , 23
A 48 2
(40)
dhd33 = Bh33 g32 , 1
B 22

5
We can easily integrate the first equation above and obtain
1 1 0
2
= A ln = g32 = ln , (41)
2g3 0 2A

with 0 some integration constant. Inserting this result in the second equation above,
we have
 
dh33 B d 0
= ln . (42)
h33 2A

The above can also be easily integrated to yield

   
h33 B 2 0 0 B 2 0
ln 0 = ln = h33 = h33 exp ln , (43)
h33 4A 4A

with h033 some integration constant.

In the following, we determine 0 , h033 . First, we use the fact stated in the text
book that

g32 ( = mZ ) = 4s = 0 = mZ exp(8As ) = 105 GeV, (44)

where we have used (36) in the last step. Similarly,

  1
mb 2 0 mb 2 B 2 0
h33 ( = mb ) = = h33 = exp ln = 0.016, (45)
v v 4A mb

where we have used (36) and (44) in the last step.

Using these results, we can evaluate

h33 (mH ) 0.016 h33 (mZ ), (46)

where we used mH = 126 GeV. Then, using the tree-level approximation,

h33 (mH )v h33 (mZ )v

mb (mH ) 2.8 GeV mb (mZ ). (47)
2 2
This result matches within the error with that in the paper of problem 1. This shows
our approximations here are far more accurate.

3 Problem 3 (4 points)
The missing diagram is C.
Regarding the correction for the U (1) interaction, we will need to take all diagrams
into account: A,B,C.

6
 Physics 742, Standard Model: Homework #5

Feel free to collaborate on this problem.

Higgs decay into gluons. Draw the loop diagram with a top quark that gives rise
to h gg. Write the amplitude, taking the momenta of the two gluons to be p1 and p2 ,
and the momenta in the loop to be l + p1 , l and l p2 respectively. Notice that there
is a nontrivial combinatoric factor for the diagram. Algebra can be simplified a bit by
taking the (1 x y) coefficient to multiply the simplest propagator when combining
denominators.
To evaluate the loop, it is helpful to realize that it corresponds to an effective operator
that must be gauge invariant,
1
L = h F F

where has dimensions of mass. This means that the amplitude must contain one power of
each photon momentum and therefore be convergent. However if you use a regulator that
does not respect gauge invariance (like a cutoff) this will not come about automatically,
since divergent terms like hA A would be allowed in the absence of gauge symmetry.
If you are comfortable with dimensional regularization, you can use it to explicitly show
that the would-be divergent terms vanish. Otherwise, you can use a cutoff and ignore
the divergent terms (realizing that they must be subtracted away using counterterms to
get a correct gauge invariant result.) You must subtract away the part of the amplitude
that remains when p1 = p2 = 0 if you use a cutoff, whereas dimensional regularization
automatically does this for you. Since the term that remains in the end is convergent,
once properly identified, no regulator is really needed.
Evaluate the amplitude coming from the effective operator so that you can see the form
that must arise from the loop integral. It involves a linear combination of (1 2 )(p1 p2 )
and (1 p2 )(2 p1 ). You can save the work of evaluating all the terms in the loop integral
by realizing that the two kinds of structures must appear in this linear combination due
to gauge symmetry. Hence computing only the terms going like (1 2 ) is sufficient to
infer the full amplitude. Compute these terms, expressing your result as an integral over
Feynman parameters x, y.
Mathematica can do the integrals analytically, giving dilogarithm functions of a com-
plicated argument depending upon m2h /m2t . (It may be necessary to use the Limit function
to evaluate the indefinite integrals at some of the endpoints.) These can be expressed in
terms of more elementary functions; see eqs. (2.46, 2.47, 2.58) of http://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-
ph/0503172.pdf. By doing a series expansion of both functions in m2h /m2t , convince your-
self that they are the same functions.
For the coefficient, you need the identity for the QCD generators tr Ta Tb = 12 ab . This
is a standard convention for the normalization of the SU(N) generators in the fundamen-
tal representation. You also need the value of the strong interaction gauge coupling at
the scale of the Higgs mass. It can be read from fig. 9.3 of the PDG review of QCD,
http://pdg.lbl.gov/2015/reviews/rpp2015-rev-qcd.pdf.
Evaluate your result and see if you agree with the branching ratio in the Higgs working
group report. Agreement will not be exact since there are QCD corrections from gluon
loops; see eq. (2.61) of http://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-ph/0503172.pdf.
Physics 742: Standard Model.
Homework 5. Solutions.

1 Problem 1 (30 points)

We want to compute the amplitude for diagram A:

!
d4 l
  Z
iyt i
iM = 2 (1) 4
Tr (igs T a )
|{z} | {z } 2 (2) /
l + p/1 mt g |t t
{z }
combinatoric factor fermion loop | {z } | {z } 1 1 2 vertex
ht1 t3 vertex t1 propagator

  !
i i
/1 /2

igs T b


. (1)
|{z} /l mt | {z } |{z} /l p/ mt
{z } g2 t2 t3 vertex g2 propagator | 2
g1 propagator | {z }
t2 propagator t3 propagator

A bit of algebra leads to

yt gs2 d4 l Tr[(/l + p/1 + mt )/1 (/l + mt )/2 (/l p/2 + mt )]

Z
iM = , (2)
2 (2)4 [(l + p1 )2 m2t ](l2 m2t )[(l p2 )2 m2t ]
where we have used
ab
Tr(T a T b ) = . (3)
2

1
Let us define a few quantities next:

d4 l N
Z
I , (4)
(2)4 D

where

N Tr[(/l + p/1 + mt )/1 (/l + mt )/2 (/l p/2 + mt )], (5)

2
D [(l + p1 ) m2t ](l2 m2t )[(l 2
p2 ) m2t ]. (6)

Let us first work out N :

N = mt Tr[(/l + p/1 )/1 /l/2 + (/l + p/1 )/1 /2 (/l p/2 ) + /1 /l/2 (/l p/2 )] + m3t Tr(/1 /2 ), (7)

where we have simply noted that all terms with an odd number of Gamma matrices
will not contribute to our amplitude. Now, we use the identities

Tr( ) = 4( + ), Tr( ) = 4 (8)

and thus obtain

N = 4mt [(l + p1 ) 1 2 l (l + p1 ) l1 2 + (l + p1 ) 2 l 1

+(l + p1 ) 1 (l p2 ) 2 (l + p1 ) 2 (l p2 ) 1 + (l + p1 ) (l p2 )1 2
+l 1 (l p2 ) 2 l (l p2 )1 2 + (l p2 ) 1 l 2 ] + 4m3t 1 2 . (9)

Next, we note that, due to polarization,

p1 1 = p2 2 = 0. (10)

Consequently, the above reduces to

N = 4mt (4l 1 l 2 + p1 2 p2 1 p1 p2 1 2 l2 1 2 ) + 4m3t 1 2 . (11)

We turn to the denominator next. Using the Feynman integration we have

Z 1 Z 1x
1
= 2 dx dy{[(l + p1 )2 m2t ]x + [(l p2 )2 m2t ]y
D 0 0
+(l2 m2t )(1 x y)}3
Z 1 Z 1x
= 2 dx dy[l2 + 2(l p1 x l p2 y) m2t ]3 , (12)
0 0

where we have used the massless gluon approximation, i.e.:

p21 = p22 = 0. (13)

2
Defining
k l + p1 x p2 y, m2t 2p1 p2 xy, (14)
the above can be further rewritten as
Z 1 Z 1x
1
=2 dx dy(k 2 )3 . (15)
D 0 0

Next, we wish to change the integration variable from l to k in I. We start by

considering the shift in N :
N = 4mt [4(k 1 + p2 1 y)(k 2 p1 2 x) k 2 1 2 + 2p1 p2 xy1 2
p1 p2 1 2 + p1 2 p2 1 + m2t 1 2 ], (16)
where we have again used (13). Omitting linear terms in k (as they will vanish upon
integration, by symmetry) and with a bit of algebra, the above is
N = 4mt {4k 1 k 2 k 2 1 2 + [m2t + p1 p2 (2xy 1)]1 2
+(1 4xy)p1 2 p2 1 }. (17)
Before proceeding further, we use the gauge-invariance shortcut suggested by the
problem. That is, we note that our process has the effective Lagrangian
1
hF F ,
L= (18)

which leads to an amplitude of the form
iM (p1 1 p1 1 )(p2 2 p2 2 ) p1 p2 1 2 p1 2 p2 1 . (19)
We will thus work out only the 1 2 type of terms for our case and then simply insert
the p1 2 p2 1 type terms by demanding they couple as in (19). With this in mind,
we work out only the relevant part of I next:
Z 1 Z 1x Z
d4 k k 2 + m2t + p1 p2 (2xy 1)
I = 8mt dx dy 1 2 . (20)
0 0 (2)4 (k 2 )3
As suggested in the problem, we use dimensional regularization to integrate over k
above:
Z 1 Z 1x Z
dd k (4/d 1)k 2 + m2t + p1 p2 (2xy 1)
I = 8mt dx dy 1 2 . (21)
0 0 (2)d (k 2 )3
Using the following results from Peskin & Schroeder A.4:
dd l (3 d/2) d/23
Z
1 i
I1 d 2 3
= d/2
, (22)
(2) (l ) (4) (3)
dd l l2 d (2 d/2) d/22
Z
i
I2 d 2 3
= d/2
, (23)
(2) (l ) (4) 2 (3)

3
we can rewrite I as
Z 1 Z 1x
I = 8mt dx dy{(4/d 1)I2 + [m2t + p1 p2 (2xy 1)]I1 }1 2 . (24)
0 0

For d = 4 dimensions, it is easy to see that

i i 1
lim (4/d 1)I2 = , lim I1 = . (25)
d4 32 2 d4 32 2
Hence, we have

imt 1
Z 1x 
m2t + p1 p2 (2xy 1)
Z 
I = dx dy 1 1 2
4 2 0 0
Z 1 Z 1x
im2h 1 4xy
= 2
dx dy m2
1 2 , (26)
8 mt 0 0 1 h2 xy mt

where we have used (14) and

m2h
p1 p2 = , (27)
2
which follows from our prior massless gluon approximation. Now, using our remark
in (19), we recover the full integral of our interest. This is
Z 1 Z 1x
i 1 4xy m2h
I= 2 dx dy m2
( 1 2 p1 2 p2 1 ). (28)
4 mt 0 0 1 h2 xy 2 mt

The x, y integrals can be done in Mathematica (see the attached notebook). We get
 2
i mh m2h
I= 2 f ( 1 2 p1 2 p2 1 ), (29)
4 mt m2t 2

where
" p ! p !#
x4 x i x(4 x) x + i x(4 x) 2
f (x) = Li2 + Li2 + . (30)
x2 2 2 x

This function can be related to the A1/2 function suggested in the problem. As
matching from the first few terms in the Taylor expansion of the f, A1/2 functions
shows (see attached notebook), we have that
 2  2 
mh 1 mh
f = A1/2 . (31)
m2t 4 4m2t

4
Thus,

m2h m2h
 
i
I= A1/2 ( 1 2 p1 2 p2 1 ) (32)
16 2 mt 4m2t 2

and hence
iyt gs2 m2h m2h
 
iM = A1/2 ( 1 2 p1 2 p2 1 ). (33)
16 2 2mt 4m2t 2

Using

gs2 y m
= s , t = t , (34)
4 2 v

we have
m2h m2h
 
is
iM = A1/2 ( 1 2 p1 2 p2 1 ). (35)
4v 4m2t 2

From the above result, we want to now obtain the branching ratio corresponding to
diagram A. For that, we first need to compute the spin-averaged matrix element:
 2 2
s2 

2 mh 
h|M| i = A1/2
16 2 v 2  4m2t 
X m4 
h 2 2 2 2
|1 2 | mh 1 2 p1 2 p2 1 + |p1 2 | |p2 1 | . (36)
4

We have that
X
|1 2 |2 = = 4, (37)
X m2h
1 2 p1 2 p2 1 = p1 p2 = , (38)
X 2
|p1 2 |2 |p2 1 |2 p21 p22 = 0. (39)

Using which, it follows that

 2 2
2 m4

h|M| i = s 2 h2 A1/2 mh  .
2
 
2 
(40)
32 v  4m t

The corresponding width is then given by

h|M|2 i |~p1 | Ng
(h gg) = 4 , (41)
32 2 m2h 2

5
where 4 is the solid angle, Ng = 8 sums over the gluons and the 1/2 factor is needed
because the final state particles are identical. Further using |~p1 | = mh /2 and (40) in
(41), we get
 2 2
s2 m3h

A1/2 mh  .
 
(h gg) = (42)
128 3 v 2  4m2 
t

Using the numerical values

s 0.1, mh = 125 GeV, v = 246 GeV, mt = 174 GeV, (43)

where s was estimated from the given reference in the problem, we get

(h gg) = 0.17 MeV. (44)

Since tot = 4.07 MeV, the branching ratio we are looking for is

(h gg)
BR = = 4%. (45)
tot
Finally, we are asked to compare the above result with that given in the appropriate
reference in the problem, which says BR 9%. We see that our result is less than half
of the measured value, leading to a relative error of above 50%. However, as pointed
out by the problem itself, an underestimation of the real value was to be expected,
as QCD corrections that would increase our result are missing in our computation.

6
 Physics 742, Standard Model: Homework #6

1. Optical theorem. Compute the self-energy of the Higgs boson due to the bottom
quark loop, taking general external momentum q (need not be on shell). Self-energy is
the correction to the mass squared. Using a cutoff, you get something proportional to
Z 1
2
dx M 2 ln
0 M2
where M 2 = m2b q 2 x(1 x). The more divergent term going as 2 does not contribute
to the imaginary part. To find the imaginary part as a function of q 2 , put back the
i prescription for the quark propagators and define the logarithm with a branch cut
starting somewhere along the positive q 2 axis in the complex q 2 plane. Notice that for
general q 2 , you need to find the values of x for which the imaginary part is nonzero to
evaluate the (imaginary part) of the integral. You neednt calculate the real part. Show
that when q 2 = m2h , this contribution to the imaginary part of the self-energy is equal to
imh , where is the partial width into quark pairs, including the complete phase space
dependence. If q 2 6= m2h , what is the more general expression for the imaginary part?
2. Z boson production. Compute the average squared matrix element for e+ e
Z. Use this along with the measured width of Z to compute the production cross section
for Z on resonance. Note that the one-body phase space integral gives

h|M|2 i
= (s m2 )
m2
in the narrow-width approximation. Compare your result to fig. 50.7 of PDG. This is
the cross section into hadrons only, so you have to rescale your result by the appropriate
branching ratio, as given in PDG. To understand why the answer is off by a factor of
30%, see section 6.7.2 of the textbook. There it is shown that initial state radiation,
neglected in the present calculation, reduces the predicted cross section by a factor of
0.72.
Physics 742: Standard Model.
Homework 6. Solutions.

1 Problem 1 (15 points)

The relevant diagram is Diagram A at the back. Its amplitude is given by
 m 2
b
iM = 1 (1) i
| {zv }
|{z} | {z }
combinatoric factor fermion loop
two hb1 b2 vertex factors

!
4
Z 
dl i i
Tr 1 1 (1)
(2)4 |{z}
h propagator /l + /q mb /l mb |{z}
} | {z } h propagator

| {z
b1 propagator b2 propagator

A bit of algebra yields

 m 2
b
iM = I, (2)
v
where we have defined
d4 l N
Z
I , (3)
(2)4 D

1
with



N Tr /l + /q + mb /l + mb , (4)
D (l + q)2 m2b l2 m2b .
 

(5)

We work on N first. Ignoring terms with an odd number of Gamma matrices (as
their trace vanishes), we have

N = Tr /l/l + /l/q + m2b = 4 q l + l2 + m2b .

(6)

Using Feynman integrals, we can rewrite 1/D as

Z 1
1 2
dx (l + q)2 m2b x + l2 m2b (1 x)
 

=
D
Z0 1

2
= dx q 2 x + 2q lx + l2 m2b
Z0 1

2
= dx k 2 M 2 , (7)
0

where we have defined

k l + qx, M 2 m2b q 2 x (1 x) . (8)

We want to change the integration variable in I from l to k next. This changes N as

follows:

N = 4 q (k qx) + (k qx)2 + m2b = 4 k 2 + M 2 ,

 

(9)

where we have omitted linear terms in k (as they vanish upon integration due to
symmetry) and in the last step we have used (8). Thus, I is
Z 1
d4 k k 2 + M 2
Z
I=4 dx . (10)
(2)4 0 (k 2 + M 2 )2
Now, the k integral simplifies a lot if we note that there is no angular dependence in
the integrand. Further, we use a cut-off 2 as suggested in the exercise. Then, we
have
Z 2 Z 2
d4 k
Z Z
d3 3 1
= dk k = 2 dk k 3 . (11)
(2)4 (2)4 0 8 0
Using the above, I reduces to
2 1
k 5 + k 3 M 2
Z Z
i
I= 2 dk dx 2 . (12)
2 0 0 (k + M 2 )2

2
The k integral can be easily performed under the change of variables
du
u = k2 + M 2 = k = u M 2 , dk = . (13)
2 u M2
We obtain
Z 1 Z 2 +M 2
i (u M 2 )(u + 2M 2 )
I = dx du
4 2 0 M2 u2
Z 1 Z 2 +M 2 
M2 M4

i
= dx du 1 + 3 2 2
4 2 0 M2 u u
Z 1 u= 2 +M 2
M 4 
 
i 2
= dx u + 3M ln u + 2
4 2 0 u u=M 2
Z 1 
2 M 2 2
  
i 2 2
= dx + 3M ln 1 + 2 2 2 . (14)
4 2 0 M M + 2
The problem tells us to ignore the first term. We also ignore the last one, since it is
finite. Thus, we only keep
Z 1
3i 2
I= 2 dx M 2 ln 2 , (15)
4 0 M
where we have further taken the large 2 limit. As told by the problem, we plug in
the i prescription. Further, we use (8), Thus, we are left to compute
Z 1
3i 2
dx m2b q 2 x(1 x) ln 2
 
I= 2 . (16)
4 0 mb q 2 x(1 x) i
We are told to focus only on the imagianry part of the above logarithm, i.e.
m2b < x(1 x)q 2 . (17)
This happens when
s
1 x0 4m2b
x (x , x+ ) , x , x0 1 , (18)
2 q2
the imaginary contribution being i. Thus, we have
Z x+
3
dx m2b q 2 x(1 x)
 
I =
4 x
x=x
q 2 2 q 2 3  +

3 2
= mb x x + x 
4 2 3 x=x
2 2
3x0 x30
  
3 2 q q
= mb x0 x0 + +
4 2 3 4 4
2 2 3/2
 
q 4m
= 1 2b . (19)
8 q

3
The amplitude is thus given by
3/2
4m2b

3  mb q 2
iM = 1 2 , (20)
8 v q
where we have further multiplied by Nc = 3, to account for all three colors that the
b quark in the loop may take. If q 2 = m2h and we recall equation (1) in assignment 2,
problem 1, then

iM(q 2 = m2h ) = mh (H bb), (21)

with Nc = 3 there as well.

2 Problem 2 (15 points)

We want to consider Diagram B, shown at the back. Its amplitude is given by

eZ (gV + gA 5 ) 
 
iM = v(p2 ) u(p1 ) . (22)
| {z } | {z } | {z } |{z}
e+ propagator e+ e Z vertex e propagator Z propagator

Then, the corresponding averaged squared matrix element is

1X e2 X
h|M|2 i = |M|2 = Z   , (23)
4 spins 4

where we have defined

h 
 
i
5 5
Tr p/2 me gV + gA p/1 + me gV + gA . (24)

We will use the identity

X p p
  = + , (25)
m2Z
but before that, let us do the trace in :
h    i h    i
2 2 5 5
= gV Tr p/2 me p/1 + me + gA Tr p/2 me p/1 + me
h        i
+gV gA Tr p/2 me p/1 + me 5 + p/2 me 5 p/1 + me (26)
.

The above reduces considerably if we ignore terms with an odd number of Gamma
matrices (as their trace vanishes, even when a 5 multiplies such a term) and we use
the identities

{ , 5 } = 0 , ( 5 )2 = I, Tr( 5 ) = 0 , . (27)

4
We obtain
  h    i
=gV2 Tr p/2 p/1 gV2 m2e Tr ( ) + gA2 Tr p/2 me p/1 me
h        i
+ gV gA Tr p/2 me p/1 + me 5 + p/2 me p/1 me 5
   
=(gV2 + gA2 )Tr p/2 p/1 m2e (gV2 gA2 )Tr( ) + 2gV gA Tr p/2 p/1 5 .
(28)

Using the identities

Tr ( ) = 4 , (29)
Tr ( ) = 4 ( + ) , (30)
Tr 5 = 4i


(31)

in the above, we get

= 4(gV2 + gA2 )(p2 p1 p2 p1 + p2 p1 ) 4m2e (gV2 gA2 ) + 8igV gA p2 p1  .

(32)

We note that the last term vanishes when contracted with (25). Thus, we are left
with
 
2 2
 2 2 2 2 2
 p p
h|M| i =eZ (gV + gA )(p2 p1 p2 p1 + p2 p1 ) me (gV gA ) + 2
mZ
2
  
2p2 pp1 p p2 p1 p
=e2Z (gV2 + gA2 ) 2p2 p1 +
m2Z
p2
 
m2e (gV2 gA2 ) 4 + 2 (33)
mZ

Now, using

m2Z p2 m2Z
p2 p = p1 p = = , p2 p1 = m2e , (34)
2 2 2
the above becomes

h|M|2 i =e2Z gV2 + gA2 m2Z m2e + 3m2e gV2 gA2






=e2Z gV2 m2Z + 2m2e + gA2 m2Z 4m2e .




(35)

For the cross-section, we use the formula suggested in the problem:

h|M|2 i
= (s m2Z ) (36)
m2Z

5
and use the Breit-Wigner approximation, as suggested too:
1 mZ 1 1
(s m2Z ) 2 2

2 sm
, (37)
(s mZ ) + mZ Z mZ

where in the last step we have considered the on-shell limit. Then, we obtain the
following cross-section:

e2Z  2 2 2

2 2 2


= g V m Z + 2me + g A mZ 4me . (38)
m3Z

Using the numerical values

mZ = 91.2 GeV, me = 511 keV, gA = 0.25,

(39)
gV = 0.019, e2Z = 0.553, = 2.495 GeV,

where the last value follows from the reference given in the problem, we get

= 1.5 104 GeV2 = 60 nb. (40)

To compare to PDG, we note that

(e+ e hadrons) = BR(Z hadrons) = 42 nb, (41)

where we used BR(Z hadrons) = 0.7, from the reference given in the problem. As
warned, this is an overestimation. However, if we include the effects of radiation as
prescribed by the problem, i.e.

(e+ e hadrons) 0.72 = 30 nb, (42)

we obtain excellent agreement with PDG.

6
 Physics 742, Standard Model: Homework #7

1. Deep inelastic scattering. Download the MRST PDFs and run the first part of
the example.nb mathematica notebook (the central PDF set) to familiarize yourself with
the code.
(a) We learned the expression for d/dx dy for electromagnetic DIS. What is the corre-
sponding expression for d/dx dQ2 , which experimentalists are often interested in? Hint:
dQ (Q2 xys) = 1.
2
R

(b) Look at the paper 1506.06042 from the ZEUS collaboration. A reduced cross section
for neutral current scattering is defined in eq. (1). We will be interested in computing
it at sufficiently low values of Q2 that Z boson exchange can be neglected, eq. (3), but
Q2  m2p . Show that the structure function called FL is equal to F2 2xF1 by comparing
eqs. (1, 3) to your result in (a).
(c) In your mathematica notebook, construct the parton model prediction for F2 . Use it
to generate the reduced cross sections plotted in fig. 4 of the ZEUS paper and compare
to the results from the HERA experiments. Reproduce as closely as possible the form of
the plot in the paper. How would the x = 0.25 curve look if the gluon carried electric
charge 1? Show it on your plot using a different color.
(d) Integrate your result from (a) over x to find the expression for d/dQ2 . You are asked
to reproduce the neutral current scattering curve in the figure on the next page, taken
from a review article that says that the data were taken from the paper reporting these
ZEUS results, with 820 GeV protons and 27.5 GeV electrons. At what value of s were
the data taken? What values do you get (in pb/GeV2 ) at Q2 = 200 and 104 GeV2 ? You
may ignore the running of .

2. Drell-Yan scattering. From d/dx dy for Drell-Yan scattering of pp, find the
expression for d/dQ2 . Using the MSTW PDFs, compute d/dQ2 for DY production of
leptons and compare to the figure reproduced on the next page. From ref. [3] of the paper
cited below the figure, this appears to be data for production of muons by scattering 29.5
GeV protons on a stationary uranium target (circular data points). The triangles are a
theoretical estimate of the corresponding cross section for pp scattering. Hint: make a
table and use ListLogPlot to avoid having to compute too many points on the curve.
The SM prediction (dashed curve) falls below the data due to new resonances at
3.1 and 3.7 GeV. What particles (with the same quantum numbers as the photon) could
be resonantly produced, having approximately these masses? Their contribution to the
cross section is not taken into account in our calculation.

3. Higgs production. Compute the leading order prediction for the Higgs production
cross section at LHC via gg fusion and plot the result in pb as a function of s = 8 to 14
TeV. Compare your result at 14 TeV to that of the Higgs working group. How big must
the higher order corrections be to explain the discrepancy? See Djouadis review article
for the correct answer, or this more recent determination.
Figure 1: Left: DIS data from Engelen and Kooijman review, Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 41
(1998) 1-47. Right: DY data plotted in Duong-Van, Phys. Lett. B60 (1976) 287.
Physics 742: Standard Model.
Homework 7. Solutions.

1 Problem 1
1.1 Question a (2 points)
It was seen during the class that
d2 42 y q2
   
2 2
= 4 q F1 + (1 y) 2 xmp F2 . (1)
dxdy q xy
We will soon use the above result. But first, we note that
Z  2 
d d
= dy . (2)
dx dxdy
Using the given hint, we further have that
Z  2 Z
d d
= dy dQ2 (Q2 xys)
dx dxdy
 
Z Z  2  y Q2
d xs
= dQ2 dy
dxdy xs
2
Z 
1 d 
= dQ2
xs dxdy y= Q2
xs
Z 2
d
= dQ2 . (3)
dxdQ2

1
From the above it follows that
d2 1 d2 

= . (4)
dxdQ2 xs dxdy y= Q2
xs

Using (1) and with a bit of algebra, we get the desired result:
d2 42 Q2 xs2
    
2 2
= 2 2 4 Q F1 + 1 xmp F2 , (5)
dxdQ2 xsQ xs Q2
where we have used Q2 = q 2 .

1.2 Question b (2 points)

The reference given in the problem tells us that
d2 Q4 x y2
= = F2 FL , Y+ 1 + (1 y)2 . (6)
dxdQ2 22 Y+ Y+
Setting
Q2
y= (7)
xs
and with a bit of algebra, we get
d2 22 2Q2 Q4 Q4
  
= 4 2 + 2 2 F2 2 2 FL . (8)
dxdQ2 Qx xs xs xs
Setting mp 0 in (5) and equating (5) and (8), we have
2Q2 Q4 Q4 Q2 xs2
      
1 2 2
2 + 2 2 F2 2 2 FL = 2 Q F1 + 1 F2 . (9)
Q2 xs xs xs xs xs Q2
With a bit of algebra, the above implies the desired result:

FL = F2 2xF1 . (10)

1.3 Question c (3 points)

Equation (9.47) in the text book tells us that
 
1X 4 1


F1 = (um + um ) + dm + dm , F2 = 2xF1 . (11)
2 m 9 9

Thus, from (10), we have that

FL = 0 (12)

2
and further using (6), we get

= F2 . (13)

Now, if the gluon carried a 1 charge, we would need to add g (the PDF for gluons)
to the above:

= F2 + g. (14)

The required plot and corresponding implementing code, which is based on the above
explained formulas, can be found in the attached Mathematica notebook. The agree-
ment to the HERA paper cited in the problem is very good. This is to be expected,
as we use experimental values of the PDFs for our plot.

1.4 Question d (3 points)

From (5), we have that
1
42
Z   2  
d xs s
= dx 2 2 F1 + 2 F2 , (15)
dQ2 Q2 /s xs Q4 Q

where we have again set mp 0. The integration limits follow from

Q2
 2 
Q
y= [0, 1], x [0, 1] = x ,1 . (16)
xs s

The first equality above follows from the implementation of the -function of the hint
in Question a. Now, s above is given by

s = (pp + pe )2 = m2p + m2e + 2(Ep Ee |~pp ||~pe | cos ). (17)

We set cos = 1 for anti-parallel beams, mp 0 me for ultrarelativistic speeds

and |~pp | = Ep , |~pe | = Ee . Hence,

s 4Ep Ee = 90200 GeV2 , (18)

where in the last step we have used the numerical values Ep = 820 GeV, Ee = 27.5
GeV given in the problem. The required plot and corresponding implementing code,
d
which is based on the above explained formulas, along with the values of dQ 2 at
2
Q2 = 200, 104 GeV , can be found in the attached Mathematica notebook. Agreement
to the data is only qualitatively good, as there are many approximations done in the
setting up of our formulas.

3
2 Problem 2 (10 points)
Equation (9.61) in the text book tells us that
Z 1 Z 1
d2 X
= dx 1 dx 2 [q(x1 )q(x2 ) + q(x1 )q(x2 )]
dydQ2 0 0 q

42 Q2q
 
2

1 x1
|q| x1 x2 s y ln . (19)
9|q|2 2 x2
Since Q2 = |q|2 and integration over y simply gets us rid of the last -function on the
RHS above, we have that
42 Q2q
Z 1 Z 1
d X
2


= dx 1 dx2 [q(x 1 )q(x 2 ) + q(x 1 )q(x 2 )] Q x 1 x 2 s . (20)
dQ2 0 0 q
9Q2

Q2
Integration over x2 sets x2 = [0, 1]. ALong with x1 [0, 1], this will further
x1 s
h 2 i
restrict the integration limits on x1 to x1 Qs , 1 . We thus obtain
1 X Q2 Q2 42 Q2q 1
Z 
d
= dx1 q(x1 )q( ) + q(x1 )q( ) . (21)
dQ2 Q2 /s q
x1 s x1 s 9Q2 x1 s

The Q2 integral must then be done numerically. The required plot and corresponding
implementing code, which is based on the above explained formulas, can be found in
the attached Mathematica notebook. The agreement to the SM prediction is good,
as one would expect.
The particles with the same quantum numbers as the photon (i.e. 1 ) in the
mass range of interest are J/(1s) and (2s), where we have that

s = (pb + ps )2 2m2p + 2Eb mp = 57.1 GeV2 (22)

and in the last step we have used the numerical values mp = 0.938 GeV, Eb =
29.5 GeV.

3 Problem 3 (10 points)

It was seen in class that the requested cross-section is given by
Z 1 Z 1
= dx1 dx2 g(x1 )g(x2 ), (23)
0 0

where
2 m2h
s m2h ,


= 2
s x1 x2 s. (24)
576v

4
Integration over x2 yields
Z 1
m2h 2 m2h 1
 
dx1 g(x1 )g , (25)
m2h /s x1 s 576v 2 x1 s

where the integration limit in x1 was restricted by the exact same logic as in the
previous exercise. This x1 integral must then be done numerically. The required
plot and corresponding implementing code, which is based on the above explained
formulas, can be found in the attached Mathematica notebook. Agreement
to the first
reference in the problem is, as expected, very poor. For example, at s = 14 TeV one
gets 16 pb, which has a relative error of almost 70% with respect to the value
suggested by the Higgs working group. The 1.6 factor coming from higher order
corrections suggested by Djouadi helps obtain a better agreement, but still doesnt
produce a perfect match.

5
 Physics 742, Standard Model: Homework #8

You will want to define the = a T a matrices from the chiral Lagrangian in a
Mathematica or Maple notebook to avoid having to do matrix computations by hand.
1. Quark masses. (a) Use the lowest order predictions of chiral perturbation theory
to calculate the isospin-violating ratio of quark masses
md mu
r=
md + mu
and compare to the central values given by the PDG.
(b) Better agreement can be obtained by taking into account the electromagnetic con-
tributions to the meson masses. It can be argued that these are encoded in an effective
operator tr(Q Q) where Q is the quark charge matrix. Expand this operator to second
order in the meson fields and see what its effect is on the meson masses, up to an unde-
termined coefficient, of course. (This result is known as Dashens theorem, much easier
to prove using the chiral Lagrangian than the current alebra techniques of Dashens day.)
One can determine the coefficient using the 0 - mass splitting.
(c) Using the result from (b), find a modified formula for r in terms of the meson masses,
and compute its value.
2. K . According to Georgi and our textbook, purely hadronic weak decays
cannot be computed in chiral perturbation theory as predictably as semileptonic ones, due
to renormalization of the product of the two weak currents, giving a number of possible
operators at low energy. However lets see how big a problem this really is for K + + 0 .
Factorize the matrix element as M h 0 |JL |K + ih + |JL |0i and compute the two factors
from the chiral Lagrangian. From this compute the decay width and compare to PDG.
3. K e. The matrix element J h + |JL |K i is relevant for the decay
mode K + e . However it is somewhat difficult to compute because it is a
combination of a term arising in the expansion of JL in the meson fields, plus a term
involving a 4-meson interaction: see fig. 5.1 of Georgis book. Instead of fully computing
this extra diagram directly, we will try to constrain its form using a symmetry argument,
namely that in the limit of exact chiral symmety (where the meson masses vanish) the
current is conserved: q J = 0, where q = (p+ + p pK ).
(a) Using Mathematica or Maple, work out the 1PI (one-particle irreducible) contribution
to the current involving K , + , , verifying eq. (5.8.9) of Georgi. (Note his convention
for the sign of 5 is opposite to mine.) Compute its contribution to the matrix element
J , and show that it is not conserved, even in the chiral limit.
(b) Show that the 4-meson interactions coming from the kinetic term are proportional to
   
tr 1
( 2 )2
4
31 ( ) ( 3 ) = tr 1 2 2 2
4
13 ( 2 )( 3 ) (1)

and work out the trace for the relevant terms in your notebook. (You can simplify by
setting to zero any meson fields not involved in the interaction of interest. I find that the
first term is proportional to ( + )(K + K ) + ( + K )(K + ).) It is convenient
to integrate by parts as indicated to simplify the derivative structure. Show that the
diagram involving these interactions contributes a term of the form
q
(. . .)
q2
to J , where (. . .) represents a sum of squares of particle momenta coming from the 2
operators in (1). Show that these can have the right form to cancel the terms coming
from (a) in q J , in the chiral limit.
Physics 742: Standard Model.
Homework 8. Solutions.

1 Problem 1
1.1 Question a (2 points)
The problem tells us that
md mu
r1 . (1)
md + mu
Using the PDG values

md = 4.8 MeV, mu = 2.3 MeV, (2)

we have the prediction

r1 = 0.35. (3)

Now, equation (8.63) in the textbook tells us that

c c c
m2 = (mu + md ), m2K = (mu + ms ), m2K 0 = (ms + md ). (4)
2 2 2
So the above ratio can be rewritten as
md + ms ms mu m2 0 m2
r2 = = K 2 K . (5)
md + mu m

1
Using the PDG values
mK 0 = 497.6 MeV, mK = 493.7 MeV, m = 139.6 MeV, (6)
we have that
r2 = 0.20. (7)
The relative error between the two values is
|r1 r2 |
Er = 100 = 43%. (8)
r1
Thus, the agreement is bad. We try to improve it in the next question.

1.2 Question b (4 points)

It was seen in class that
e
= f e2i/f , Q = diag(2, 1, 1), (9)
3
where
0


2
+ 6 + K+
1 0
+ K0 .

= 2 6 (10)
2 q
K K 0 23

It will soon prove useful to Taylor expand in around = 0. It will be enough to

do so till third order:
"  2  3 #
2i 1 2i 2 1 2i 3
=f 1+ + + + ... . (11)
f 2 f 6 f

All the above is useful because we are asked what the second order term of the
Taylor expansion of Tr(Q Q) to second order in around = 0 is. We start by
expanding (Q Q):
"  2 # "  2 #
2i 1 2i 2i 1 2i
Q Q = f 2 1 + + 2 + . . . Q 1 + 2 + . . . Q.
f 2 f f 2 f
(12)
From the above, it is easy to see that the second order terms are
"  2     2 #
(2) 2 1 2i 2 2i 2i 1 2i 2 2
(Q Q) = f Q Q + QQ + Q
2 f f f 2 f
= 2Q2 Q + 4QQ 22 Q2 . (13)

2
The cyclic property of traces then allows us to write

(2)
Tr Q Q = 4Tr(QQ 2 Q2 ) ( + + K K + ),

(14)

where in the last step we have just done explicitly the matrix multiplication and trace
using , Q above. The above tells us that only K and receive an additional
contribution to their masses and that this contribution is the same for all cases:

m2K = m2K + , m2 = m2 + . (15)

This additional contribution can be easily determined as

= m2 m20 = 1263 MeV2 , (16)

where we have used the PDG value

m0 = 135 MeV. (17)

1.3 Question c (2 points)

We note that

m2K m2 = m2K + m2 = m2K m2

(ms + mu ) (md + mu ) = ms md . (18)

Using the above observation, we can rewrite the ratio of part a as

md + ms ms + md md mu m2 0 + m2 m2K m20
r3 = = K . (19)
md + mu m20

Substituting numerical values previously mentioned, we obtain

r3 = 0.28. (20)

The relative error of our second prediction with respect to the theoretical value is

|r1 r3 |
Er = 100 = 20%, (21)
r1
which is a better agreement than in part a, but not quite satisfactory. This is to be
expected, since gluon processes are likely to significantly contribute to the process.

3
2 Problem 2 (10 points)
We want to consider the process shown in Diagram A at the back. This process has
an amplitude given by

iM = vu eW 2PL Vus vs uu eW 2PL Vud vd ,
|{z} | {z } |{z} m2W |{z} | {z } |{z}
u propagator suW + vertex s propagator |{z} u propagator + vertex
udW d propagator
W + propagator
(22)

where we have assumed negligible momentum of W + . Contracting indices above and

identifying the two factors of interest as (see equation 5.7.8. in Georgi to understand
this identification)

F1 h 0 |JL |K + i vu PL vs , F2 h + |JL |0i uu PL vd, (23)

the above amplitude can be written in the following way:

4e2W Vus Vud

iM = F1 F2 . (24)
m2W

We will compute F1 , F2 next.

The current JL is given in terms of of problem 1 in equation 5.7.7. in Georgi.
To compute F2 we only need the first term in the cited formula:

a f
JL = f Tr(T a b T b ) = a . (25)
2
Explicit matrix multiplication tells us that the following holds true:

+
Tr[(T 1 iT 2 )] = . (26)
2
It follows then that F2 is given by
f
F2 = h + |(JL
1 2
iJL )|0i = (p+ ) (27)
2
For F1 , the second term in 5.7.7. in Georgi is the relevant one:

JLa = iTr(T a [, ]). (28)

Again through explicit matrix multiplication, one an show that

1
Tr{(T 4 iT 5 )[, ]} = [( K + ) 0 K + ( 0 )] + . . . , (29)
2 2

4
where we have omitted terms that will vanish when acting on the bra and ket of F1 .
Hence, we have
1 i
F1 = h 0 |( 0 K + K + 0 )|K + i = (pK + + p0 ) . (30)
2 2 2 2
To understand the relative plus sign in the above result, see equation 5.7.3. in Georgi.
Putting everything together, our amplitude becomes
if e2W Vus Vud
iM = p+ (pK + + p0 ). (31)
m2W
Conservation of momentum in the process implies

p K + = p + + p 0 = 2p+ p0 = p2K + p2+ p20 = m2K m2 m20 . (32)

Consequently,

p+ (pK + + p0 ) = p2+ + 2p+ p0 = m2 + m2K m2 m20 = m2K m20 . (33)

Using the above, the amplitude and its square are

if e2W Vus Vud 2 f 2 e4W
iM = (mK m20 ), |M|2 = |Vus |2 |Vud |2 (m2K m20 )2 . (34)
m2W m4W
We note that there is no angular dependence in the above expressions. Hence, the
associated decay width takes the particuarly simple form
|M|2 |~p0 |
= , (35)
8 m2K
where, from pretty straightforward kinetimatics, we have that
q m2 m2 m20
|~p0 | = E20 m20 , E0 = K . (36)
2mK
Using the numerical values given in problem 1 and
f = 93 MeV, |Vud | = 0.9743, |Vus | = 0.2253,
(37)
e2W = 0.05, mW = 80.4 GeV,
we get

= 1.28 1014 MeV. (38)

We now want to compare our result to the PDG value. For this purpose, we use
the PDG value for the lifetime of K and relevant branching ratio:

= 1.238 108 s, BR(K + + 0 ) = 20.7%. (39)

5
The partial width for our process is then given by
~
(t) = tot BR(K + + 0 ) = BR(K + + 0 ) = 1.1 1014 MeV, (40)

where we have used

~ = 6.6 1022 MeV s. (41)

Thus, the agreement between our prediction and the PDG value is really good. This
is certainly surprising: one would (perhaps naively) expect unaccounted for gluon
contributions to produce quite some disagreement.

3 Problem 3
3.1 Question a (6 points)
To verify 5.8.9. in Georgi, one just needs to do explicitly the matrix multiplications
in 5.7.7. in Georgi, where was defined in problem 1 and T a = T 4 + iT 5 . This last
identification follows trivially from 5.8.7. in Georgi.
There are only three terms in 5.8.9. in Georgi, which we identify as twice the
current of the 1PI J1P

I we are asked for, that contribute to the current of interest.
These are third order in and give

J h + |J1P

I |K i
1
= h + |(K + 2K + + + K )|K i
3f 2
1
= (p + 2p+ + pK ) . (42)
3f 2
Again, to understand the relative signs in the above, one must understand equation
5.7.3. in Georgi.
To check on the lack of current conservation, we compute the following quantity:
1
q J = (p+ + p pK ) (p + 2p+ + pK )
3f 2
1
= (2p2+ p2 p2K + 2pK p pK p+ + p p+ ). (43)
3f 2
In the chiral limit, the above reduces to
1
q J = (2pK p pK p+ + p p+ ) 6= 0. (44)
3f 2

6
3.2 Question b (6 points)
The kinetic term in the Lagrangian that the problem mentions is
1
Lkin = Tr[( )( )]. (45)
4
Using the expansion of in problem 1, we have
( " 2 3 #
f2
 
2i 1 2i 1 2i
Lkin = Tr 1 + 2 + 2 + . . .
4 f 2 f 6 f
"  2  3 #)
2i 1 2i 1 2i
1 + + 2 + 2 + . . . . (46)
f 2 f 6 f

For the 4-meson interactions, we need only keep terms of order O(4 ) in the above:
"    3 2  2
2

(4) f 1 2i 2i 3 1 2i 2i
Lkin = Tr ( )( ) + ( 2 )( 2 )
4 6 f f 4 f f
 3   #
1 2i 2i
+ ( 3 )( )
6 f f
 
4 1 2 2 1 3
= Tr ( )( ) ( )( )
f2 4 3
 
4 1 2 2 2 1 2 3
= 2 Tr ( ) ( ) , (47)
f 4 3
where in the last step we have used equation (1) in the problem.
As suggested in the problem, we will simplify in problem 1 by setting to zero
all non-relevant meson fields. We get

0 + K +
1
= 0 0 . (48)
2 K
0 0
Explicit matrix multiplication then gives
1 + 2 +
t1 Tr[2 ( 2 2 )] = K K ( ) + K + 2 (K + ) ,

(49)
2
1  + + 2
t2 Tr[( 2 )3 ] = K ( K ) + K + ( 2 K + )
4
t2 +K K + + ( 2 ) + K + K ( 2 + ) .

(50)
We will rewrite the second term in a more convenient way:
1 + 2
K K ( ) + K + ( 2 ) + + ( 2 K )

t2 =
4
1 1
2 (K + )K + + 2 (K + K + ). (51)
4 4

7
It is well-known that total derivatives in the Lagrangian dont change the physics.
So, in the ongoing, we will simply ignore the last term above. Further applying the
derivatives in uch a way that they will only affect a meson field at a time, we have
that
1 + 2 +
K K ( ) + 2( )( + ) + ( 2 + )

t1 =
2
t1 = +K + ( 2 K ) + + 2( K )( ) + K ( 2 + ) ,
 
(52)
1
t2 = K + K ( )( + ) + ( K )( + ) + + ( K )( ) . (53)
 
2
Two more results that will soon be useful to us follow:
1
1 h + |t1 |K i = (p2 + 2p p+ + p2+ + p2K 2pK p+ + p2+ ),(54)
2
+ 1
2 h |t2 |K i = (p p+ pK p+ pK p ). (55)
2
Once again, the relative signs in the above can be understood by taking 5.7.3. in
Georgi into account. In the chiral limit, the second quantity is the same, but the first
one reduces to

1 = p p+ pK p+ . (56)

We now will use the above to compute the current associated to Diagram B in the
back, where the incoming meson field is that shown in Diagram C in the back too.
This current of our interest is given by
f q  + (4) 
 

J = 2 h |Lkin |K i , (57)
2q
where the first bracket is the contribution of Diagram C and the second bracket that
of Diagram B. We have denoted as q the momentum of K + , following the notation
in the problem. The overall sign is fixed such that the total current will vanish, as
suggested by the problem. In terms of 1 , 2 and in the chiral limit, the above is
4 q
 
1 1
J = 1 + 2
2f q 2 4 3

1 q
= (pK p+ p p+ 2pK p ). (58)
3f 2 q 2
When contracted with q , the above gives the exact same result of part a, but with the
opposite sign. Hence, adding both contributions, we get that the current is conserved
in the chiral limit:

q J = 0. (59)

8
 Physics 742, Standard Model: Homework #9

1. Instantons. Consider the quantum mechanics Lagrangian L = 12 mx2 12 3 (|x|

a)2 .
(a) Find the instanton solution. Remember that it has vanishing energy; this allows you
to solve a first-order rather than a second order equation. Compute its action S0 .
(b) Find the two approximate solutions that are localized around the respective minima,
corresponding to simple harmonic oscillator wave functions. Call them | ai, and show
that the tunneling amplitude ha| + ai is of order eS0 .
2. Energy density of -vacuum. Using Wittens chiral Lagrangian, we will deter-
mine V ().
(a) First consider the region  1, where the phases i should be O(). Expand the
minimization equations to linear order in i and solve for the phases. Substitute these
back into the relevant terms in the chiral Lagrangian to find their contribution to V ()
at leading order in . For simplicity, take mu = md  ms and eliminate quark masses in
favor of meson masses. Show that if the 0 gets an anomalous contribution of m20 to its
mass squared from the U(1)A -breaking term, then V can be written as

f 2 m20
V ()
= 2
12 + 32 m20 /m2

What happens if mu = 0?
(b) Next we go to large . For simplicity continue to assume that mu = md  ms so that
u = d , leaving only two phases to solve for. Show that they are related by

sin s m2
=
sin u 2m2K

so that s must always be small even if u becomes large. Then show that u =
/2 +  sin(u ) where  is a small number depending upon mass ratios, which you should
determine. Thus an approximate solution is u = (/2)(1 + ) + O(2 ). Use this to
find V () and graph it. What is its periodicity? Note that our simplifying assumption
u = d contradicts the argument that must have periodicity 2 since one can always
shift u u + 2. What must V () really look like when accounting for this? (One
can explain the discrepancy with Colemans result by corrections to the dilute instanton
gas approximation, where gauge field configurations with winding number greater than 1
were neglected.)
3. Axion decay constant. One of the early constraints on fa was via the decay
0 0 a. We can predict it from the chiral Lagrangian. Recall that the matrix gets
the additional contribution
f
+ diag(u , d , s )
2
when the phases are introduced in connection with Wittens chiral Lagrangian, and the
approximate solution is i
= m1
P 1
i / mj for small . We replace 2a/fa to incorpo-
rate the axion field. Notice that only the terms in the 11 and 22 elements are relevant
for the decay of interest.
(a) Use the hint from problem 3 of the last assignment to find the terms in the Lagrangian
that are relevant for this decay, and also for 3 0 . (We are ignoring the mass term
and just using the derivative interactions here, for simplicity.) Note that the dominant
contribution to 3 0 comes from the mass term in the chiral Lagrangian, and it van-
ishes in the limit of isospin symmetry, mu = md .
(b) Estimate in order of magnitude the relative size of the matrix elements for 0 0 a
versus 3 0 , and the resulting ratio of the two partial widths. From this estimate the
branching ratio of the axionic decay.
(c) Assuming that the axionic decay would be confused with 2 0 (a CP-violating
mode), use the limit on this mode given in PDG to find a constraint on fa .
Physics 742: Standard Model.
Homework 9. Solutions.

1 Problem 1
1.1 Question a (5 points)
We start by considering the given Lagrangian:
1 1
L = mx2 3 (|x| a)2 , (1)
2 2
where the dot denotes derivation with respect to time. We do a Wick rotation as
follows:
d d d d
t = i, dt = id, = = i . (2)
dt dt d d
Then, the Euclidean Lagrangian is
1 2
mx + 3 (|x| a)2 ,

LE = (3)
2
where the dot denotes derivation with respect to the Euclidean time in the ongoing.
The energy associated to the above Lagrangian is
1 2
mx 3 (|x| a)2 .

EE = (4)
2

1
We are asked to consider zero energy configurations, i.e.
r
2 3 2 3
x = (|x| a) = x = (|x| a). (5)
m m
The above can easily be integrated to give
Z x r Z  r 3
dx0 3 0

a |x|
0
= d = sign(x) ln = , (6)
0 |x | a m 0 a m

where we have set, without loss of generality, (x = 0) = 0. It is easy to solve for x.

This gives the desired instanton solution:
 q 
3
m
a 1 e if x 0,


x=  q
3
 (7)

a e 1 otherwise.

m

The Euclidean action is given by

Z
SE = d LE . (8)

For the solution (7), SE can be easily computed as follows:

Z
SE = d mx2

r !2 r !2
0
3 3
Z q Z q
3 3

= d m a e m + d m a e m

m 0 m
Z 0 q
3
Z q
3

2 3 2 m 2 m
= a d e + d e
0
p  =0  = !
a2m3
q q
3  3 
= e m  e m 
2 = =0
p
= a2 m3 . (9)

1.2 Question b (4 points)

It is well-known that the usual Quantum Harmonic Oscillator (QHO) centered at
x = 0 has potential energy
1
V = m 2 x2 (10)
2

2
and ground state wave function
 m 1/4 m 2
|0i = e 2
x
, (11)

in natural units. It is then easy to infer that our potential is that of two QHO,
centered at x = a with frequency
r
2 3 3
m = = = . (12)
m
Then, the solutions localized around the minima x = a are (in the notation sug-
gested by the problem)
p !1/4
m3 m3 2
| ai = e 2 (xa) . (13)

Thus,
!1/2 Z

p
m3 m3
[(xa)2 +(x+a)2 ]
ha|ai = dx e 2

!1/2 Z
p
m3
m3 (x2 +a2 )
= dx e

!1/2
p
m3 Z
m3 a2 3 2
= e dx e m x

!1/2 !1/2
p
m3
m3 a2
= e p
m3

3 2
= e m a . (14)

From (9), the above can easily be seen to be eSE .

2 Problem 2
2.1 Question a (5 points)
The potential V () mentioned in the problem was seen in class to be
!2
1 X 1 X
V () = f 2 mi cos i + f 2 m20 i . (15)
4 i
12 i

3
The minimization of the potential,
V ()
= 0 j, (16)
j
leads to the following equations
!
1 1 X
mj sin j + m20 i = 0 j. (17)
2 3 i

As suggested by the problem, we linearize the above:

!
1 1 2 X
mj j + m0 i = 0 j. (18)
2 3 i

We use

mu = md = m << ms = mu = md = m, (19)

for consistency of our minimization equations. In this case, they reduce to

(
1
2
m + 13 m20 (2 + s ) = 0,
1
(20)
2
ms + 13 m20 (2 + s ) = 0.

From the first equation above, we have that

3 m
s = 2 + . (21)
2 m20
Inserting this in the second equation, we get
! !
1 3 m 1 3 m
ms 2
2 + + m20 = 0. (22)
2 2 m0 3 2 m20

The above implies, after some easy algebra,

m20
=   3 m . (23)
3 2
m + m0 2 + m 2+ 2 m20
2 ms

Further using

m2 = 2m, (24)

we have that
!1
3 m2
= 1+ . (25)
8 m20 2

4
Using the above in (21), we get

s = 0. (26)

Now, we use the above two results to compute two soon-to-be-relevant quantities:
2
X  
mi cos i = 2m cos + ms 2m 1 + ms , (27)
i
2
!2 !1 2
2
X 3 m
i = (2 )2 = 1 1 + 2
2 . (28)
i
8 m 0

Using the above in (15) and retaining only the terms proportional to 2 , we obtain
the desired result after some easy algebra:
f 2 m20 2
V ()(2) = m20
. (29)
12 + 32 m2

If m = 0, then m2 = 0 and the potential becomes -independent, i.e.

lim V ()(2) = 0, (30)

m2 0

as expected.

2.2 Question b (5 points)

As suggested by the problem, we assume

mu = md = m << ms , u = d = . (31)

Then, (17) reduce to

(
1
2
m sin + 31 m20 (2 + s ) = 0,
1
(32)
2
ms sin s + 31 m20 (2 + s ) = 0.

It follows trivially that

sin s m2 m2 m2
m sin = ms sin s = = = . (33)
sin 2ms 2(m + ms ) 2m2K
As explained in the problem, the above ensures s << 1. In the ongoing, we simply
assume s = 0. Using this in (32), it follows that
3 m2
= sin , (34)
2 8 m20

5
which is of the desired form upon the identification
3 m2
 . (35)
8 m20
Using this result in (15), we obtain
 
1 2 1
V () = C f m cos +  sin + O(2 ) C f 2 m2 cos , (36)
2 2 4 2
where we have defined
1
C f 2 ms . (37)
4
The plot of V () (shifted by (C) for a better visualization), is shown in Image
A at the back. It is easy to infer that V () there is 4-periodic. Image A also shows
V ( + 2) (again shifted by (C)). If we take the minimum of the both, we obtain
the desired periodicity of 2. This correct V () is shown in Image B at the back.

3 Problem 3
3.1 Question a (5 points)
The problem tells us that
!1
X 1 m
i = P j j . (38)
mi j
mj mi k6=l mk ll

It follows that
md ms md
u = , (39)
mu md + mu ms + md ms mu + md
mu ms mu
d = , (40)
mu md + mu ms + md ms mu + md
where in the last steps we have assumed mu , md << ms . The matrix was given in
equation (10) of the last solution key. As suggested by the problem, we set to zero
all its components, except for 11 and 22 . Further, we set
2a
= , (41)
fa
as instructed. Using all the above, the equation in the problem can be written as
f
0 = + diag(u , d )
2
0 f amd 0 f amu
= diag( + + , + + ). (42)
2 2 3 fa mu + md 2 2 3 fa mu + md

6
 It was seen in class that the mass term in the chiral Lagrangian is
f
Lm = Tr(M + h.c.), (43)
2
where
0
= f e2i /f , M = diag(mu , md ). (44)
For 4-meson interactions, only the fourth order term in the Taylor expansion of in
0 around 0 = 0, i.e.
 4
f 21 4
(4)
= 0 , (45)
24 f
gives a contribution to Lm . This is
f 2 4
L(4)
m = Tr(2(4) M ) = 2
Tr(0 M ). (46)
2 3f
It is a matter of straightforward, albeit tedious, algebra to compute T Tr(0 4 M ).
The terms proportional to ( 0 )3 and a( 0 )2 in T are

mu md 3f md mu
( 0 )3 , a( 0 )2 , (47)
4 3 fa (md + mu )
(4)
respectively. These produce the following contributions to Lm :
1
L(4) 0 3
m (( ) ) = 2
(mu md )( 0 )3 , (48)
6 3f
2 md mu
L(4) 0 2
m (a( ) ) = a( 0 )2 . (49)
f f
3 a d m + m u

3.2 Question b (3 points)

The relative size of the amplitudes of the A a2 0 and B 3 0 decay
processes can be estimated as follows:
(4)
MA Lm (a( 0 )2 )/(2a( 0 )2 ) 36f md mu
= , (50)
MB (4) 0 3 0
Lm (( ) )/(6( ) ) 3 fa m2d m2u
where we have taken into account that N identical particles in the final state introduce
a factor of (N !)1 . Ignoring phase factors, the ratio of the associated decay widths is
given by
2
|MA |2

(A) 36f md mu
. (51)
(B) |MB |2 fa m2d m2u
The branching ratio of the axionic decay can then be estimated to be
 2
(A) (A) tot (B) (A) 36f md mu
BR(A) = = BR(B) BR(B).(52)
tot tot (B) tot (B) fa m2d m2u

7
3.3 Question c (3 points)
Some algebra on our last equation leads to
s
36f md mu BR(B)
fa 2 . (53)
md m2u BR(A)

Using the numerical values

BR(B) = 0.33, BR(A) BR( 2 0 ) < 3.5 104 ,

(54)
md = 4.8 MeV, mu = 2.3 MeV, f = 93 MeV,

we have that

fa > 64 GeV, (55)

which is not a good lower bound.