Whenever a continuous global symmetry of a physical system is spontaneously broken, the theory must contain a massless excitation, a Goldstone boson, for each broken symmetry generator. Proved by Jeffrey Goldstone, it is a foundational result in quantum field theory.
Facts
StatementIn a Lorentz-invariant quantum field theory, if the Lagrangian is invariant under a continuous symmetry, then either the vacuum state is also invariant under that symmetry, or the theory must contain a massless spinless particle for each broken generator. Proved in generality by Jeffrey Goldstone, Abdus Salam and Steven Weinberg in their 1962 paper Broken Symmetries. 1 Connections
In the Other Atlases
Credited To
Also in Science Atlas: credited with this subject.
Also in Science Atlas: credited with this subject.
Also in Science Atlas: credited with this subject.
Sources
1. Goldstone, Salam and Weinberg, Broken Symmetries (1962)
Goldstone, J.; Salam, A.; Weinberg, S., Physical Review, vol. 127, 1962meta description of the OSTI.gov bibliographic record
Some proofs are presented of Goldstone's conjecture, that if there is continuous symmetry transformation under which the Lagrangian is invariant, then elther the vacuum state is also invariant under the transformation, or there must exist spinless particles of zero mass. (auth)
APA citation block on the OSTI.gov record
Goldstone, J, Salam, A, & Weinberg, S (1962). BROKEN SYMMETRIES. Physical Review (U.S.) Superseded in part by Phys. Rev. A, Phys. Rev. B: Solid State, Phys. Rev. C, and Phys. Rev. D, Vol: 127. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.127.965
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.