Relaxing Lorentz invariance in general perturbative anomalies

We analyze the role of Lorentz symmetry in the perturbative non-gravitational anomalies for a single family of fermions. The theory is assumed to be translational invariant, power-counting renormalizable and based on a local action, but is allowed to have general Lorentz violating operators. We study the conservation of global and gauge currents associate with general internal symmetry groups and find, by using a perturbative approach, that Lorentz symmetry does not participate in the clash of symmetries that leads to the anomalies. We first analyze the triangle graphs and prove that there are regulators for which the anomalous part of the Ward identities exactly reproduces the Lorentz invariant case. Then we show, by means of a regulator independent argument, that the anomaly cancellation conditions derived in Lorentz invariant theories remain necessary ingredients for anomaly freedom.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figure. Few comments added. Article published in Physical Review

Singularities of Scattering Amplitudes on Unphysical Sheets and Their Interpretation

The analytic structure of two-particle scattering amplitudes on the unphysical sheet of the Riemann surface reached by crossing the two-particle cut is discussed. The singularities of the amplitudes there are shown to be poles and their physical interpretation is studied. The way in which bound states appear on the physical sheet in the Mandelstam representation, both as isolated poles and as cuts, is traced in detail. The properties of partial wave amplitudes and of the full amplitude as a function of energy and angle and of energy and momentum transfer are discussed. Finally, a few remarks are made in connection with unstable states

Effects of an extra U(1) axial condensate on the strong decays of pseudoscalar mesons

We consider a scenario (supported by some lattice results) in which a U(1)-breaking condensate survives across the chiral transition in QCD. This scenario has important consequences for the pseudoscalar-meson sector, which can be studied using an effective Lagrangian model. In particular, generalizing the results obtained in two previous papers, where the effects on the radiative decays eta,eta' --> gamma gamma were studied, in this paper we study the effects of the U(1) chiral condensate on the strong decays of the "light" pseudoscalar mesons, i.e., eta,eta' --> 3pi^0; eta,eta' --> pi^+ pi^- pi^0; eta' --> eta pi^0 pi^0; eta' --> eta pi^+ pi^-; and also on the strong decays of an exotic ("heavy") SU(3)-singlet pseudoscalar state eta_X, predicted by the model.Comment: One misprint in Eq. (2.10) has been eliminated; Eqs. (B.8) and (B.9) in Appendix B have been corrected; 46 pages, 1 tabl

A soluble problem in dispersion theory

The Lee model is modified by addition of a new field θ′ and a weak coupling N+θ→N+θ′, which leads to instability of the V particle: V→N+θ→N+θ′. The decay amplitude is calculated to lowest order in the weak coupling by dispersion relation methods. In effect we are required to study a set of simultaneous dispersion relations. The problem is completely soluble and serves to clarify the essential structure of dispersion methods. The results agree with what one obtains, more easily in the present case, by direct methods

Form factors in β decay and μ capture

We suppose that β decay and μ capture are described by a universal vector and axial vector Lagrangian and we consider, via dispersion relation techniques, the properties of the corresponding S-matrix elements. Owing to the strong interactions of the nucleons, the structure of the S matrix is expected to be more complicated than that of the Lagrangian. In the former, vector and axial vector terms appear, but with coefficients which in general depend on the invariant nucleon momentum transfer; they can be thought of as Fermi interaction form factors. Moreover, two additional kinds of terms can appear in the S-matrix elements: one which simulates a direct pseudoscalar coupling and one which simulates a direct coupling involving derivatives of the nucleon wave functions. The latter is probably too small to have any experimental significance. The former, though negligible in β decay, may be appreciable in μ capture. We estimate the effective pseudoscalar coupling coefficient there to be about eight times as large as the axial vector coefficient. More generally, we investigate the structure of the various form factors; and we also reconsider, in further refinement, a recent quantitative discussion which we have given of π→μ+ν decay

Decay of the pi meson

A quantitative study of π→μ+ν decay is presented using the techniques of dispersion theory. The discussion is based on a model in which the decay occurs through pion disintegration into a nucleon-antinucleon pair, the latter annihilating via a Fermi interaction to produce the leptons. The weak vertex contains effectively both axial vector and pseudoscalar couplings even if one adopts the point of view of a universal axial vector and vector Fermi interaction. The pion-nucleon vertex which enters our model is also calculated using dispersion techniques. Under the assumption that this vertex is damped for large momentum transfers, we obtain a result for the pion lifetime largely independent of the detailed properties of the vertex and one which is in very close agreement with experiment. The precise prediction of our theory depends on the energy dependence of the complex phase shift for nucleon-antinucleon scattering in the 1S0 isotopic triplet state

An Example of Quantum Anomaly in the Physics of Ultra-Cold Gases

In this article, we propose an experimental scheme for observation of a quantum anomaly---quantum-mechanical symmetry breaking---in a two-dimensional harmonically trapped Bose gas. The anomaly manifests itself in a shift of the monopole excitation frequency away from the value dictated by the Pitaevskii-Rosch dynamical symmetry [L. P. Pitaevskii and A. Rosch, Phys. Rev. A, 55, R853 (1997)]. While the corresponding classical Gross-Pitaevskii equation and the derived from it hydrodynamic equations do exhibit this symmetry, it is---as we show in our paper---violated under quantization. The resulting frequency shift is of the order of 1% of the carrier, well in reach for modern experimental techniques. We propose using the dipole oscillations as a frequency gauge.Comment: Misprints corrected, a discussion on damping added, text is polished and shortened. 5 pages, 1 figur

Elementary Derivation of the Chiral Anomaly

An elementary derivation of the chiral gauge anomaly in all even dimensions is given in terms of noncommutative traces of pseudo-differential operators.Comment: Minor errors and misprints corrected, a reference added. AmsTex file, 12 output pages. If you do not have preloaded AmsTex you have to \input amstex.te

Trace anomalies and chiral Ward identities

In a simple abelian spinor field theory, the canonical trace identities for certain axial-vector and axial-scalar operators are reexamined in dimensional regularization, some disagreements with previous results are found and an interesting new phenomenon is observed and briefly discussed.Comment: 4 pages, no figure, typos remove

On the induced gauge invariant mass

We derive a general expression for the gauge invariant mass (m_G) for an Abelian gauge field, as induced by vacuum polarization, in 1+1 dimensions. From its relation to the chiral anomaly, we show that m_G has to satisfy a certain quantization condition. This quantization can be, on the other hand, explicitly verified by using the exact general expression for the gauge invariant mass in terms of the fermion propagator. This result is applied to some explicit examples, exploring the possibility of having interesting physical situations where the value of $m_G$ departs from its canonical value. We also study the possibility of generalizing the results to the 2+1 dimensional case at finite temperature, showing that there are indeed situations where a finite and non-vanishing gauge invariant mass is induced.Comment: 18 pages, Latex, 3 figures (pstex