DISCRETE SYMMETRIES

All symmetry operations in quantum mechanics are not

necessarily continuous. The Hamiltonian may also be invariant
under discrete transformations, for example space-time
inversion. We consider three important symmetries here, namely,
Parity, Charge Conjugation and Time Reversal
 PARITY
Let us examine the parity operator (P) and its eigenvalues. The parity operator
acting on a wavefunction is defined by:
PY(x, y, z) = Y(-x, -y, -z) M&S pages 88-94
P2Y(x, y, z) = PY(-x, -y, -z) = Y(x, y, z)
Therefore P2 = I and the parity operator is unitary.
If the interaction Hamiltonian (H) conserves parity then [H,P]=0, and:
PY(x, y, z) = Y(-x, -y, -z) = nY(x, y, z) with n = eigenvalue of P
P2Y(x, y, z) = PPY(x, y, z) = nPY(x, y, z) = n2Y(x, y, z)
Y(x, y, z) = n2Y(x, y, z) n2 = 1 so, n=1 or n=-1.
The quantum number n is called the intrinsic parity of a particle.
If n= 1 the particle has even parity.
If n= -1 the particle has odd parity.
In addition, if the overall wavefunction of a particle (or system of
particles) contains spherical harmonics (YLm) then we must take
this into account to get the total parity of the particle (or system
of particles).
The parity of YLm is: PYLm = (-1)L YLm.
For a wavefunction Y(r, q, f)=R(r)YLm (q, f) the eigenvalues of
the parity operator are:
PY(r, q, f)=PR(r)YLm (q, f) = (-1)LR(r)YLm (q, f)
The parity of the particle would then be: n(-1)L
Note: Parity is a multiplicative quantum number
Angular momentum under parity operation
 Classical variables under parity (EVEN
PARITY-no change)

EVEN PARITY
CLASSICAL VARIABLES UNDER PARITY
(ODD PARITY- CHANGE)
 PARITY
The parity of a state consisting of particles a and b is:
(-1)Lnanb
where L is their relative orbital momentum and na and nb are the intrinsic
parity of each of the two particle.
Note: strictly speaking parity is only defined in the system where the total momentum (p) =0
since the parity operator (P) and momentum operator anticommute, (Pp=-p).
How do we know the parity of a particle ?
By convention we assign positive intrinsic parity (+) to spin 1/2 fermions:
+parity: proton, neutron, electron, muon (m-)
Anti-fermions have opposite intrinsic parity
-parity: anti-proton, anti-neutron, positron, anti-muon (m+)
Bosons and their anti-particles have the same intrinsic parity.
We determine the parity of other particles (p, K..) using the above conventions
and assuming parity is conserved in the strong and electromagnetic interaction.
Usually we need to resort to experiment to determine the parity of a particle.
What about the photon?
Strictly speaking, we can not assign a parity to the photon since it is never at rest.
By convention the parity of the photon is given by the radiation field involved:
electric dipole transitions have + parity
magnetic dipole transitions have - parity
Richard Kass
 PARITY OF PION

Example: determination of the parity of the p using p-dnn.

For this reaction we know many things:
a) sp=0, sn=1/2, sd=1, orbital angular momentum Ld=0, Jd=1
b) We know (from experiment) that the p is captured by the d in an s-wave state.
Thus the total angular momentum of the initial state is just that of the d (J=1).
c) The isospin of the nn system is 1 since d is an isosinglet and the p- has I=|1,-
1>
note: a |1,-1> is symmetric under the interchange of particles. (see below)
d) The final state contains two identical fermions and therefore by the Pauli
Principle the wavefunction must be anti-symmetric under the exchange of the
two neutrons.
Let’s use these facts to pin down the intrinsic parity of the p.
i) Assume the total spin of the nn system =0. Then the spin part of the
wavefunction is anti-symmetric:
|0,0> = (2)-1/2[|1/2,1/2>|1/2-1/2> - |1/2,-1/2>|1/2,1/2>]
To get a totally anti-symmetric wavefunction L must be even (0,2,4…)
Cannot conserve momentum (J=1) with these conditions!
ii) Assume the total spin of the nn system =1. Then the spin part of the
wavefunction is symmetric: |1,1> = |1/2,1/2>|1/2,1/2>
|1,0> = (2)-1/2[|1/2,1/2>|1/2-1/2> + |1/2,-1/2>|1/2,1/2>]
|1,-1> = |1/2,-1/2>|1/2,-1/2>
To get a totally anti-symmetric wavefunction L must be odd (1, 3, 5…)
L=1 consistent with angular momentum conservation: nn has s=1, L=1, J=1
3P
1
The parity of the final state is: nnnn(-1)L= (+)(+)(-1)1= -1
The parity of the initial state is: npnd(-1)L= np(+)(-1)0 = np
Parity conservation gives: nnnn(-1)L = npnd(-1)L np = -1
 PARITY AND TAO-THETA PUZZLE
How well is parity conserved?
Very well in strong and electromagnetic interactions (10-13)
not at all in the weak interaction!

The q-t puzzle and the downfall of parity in the weak interaction
In the mid-1950’s it was noticed that there were 2 charged particles that had
(experimentally)
consistent masses, lifetimes and spin = 0, but very different weak decay modes:
q+p+ p0
t+p+ p- p+
The parity of q+ = + while the parity of t+ = -1
Some physicists said the q+ and t+ were different particles, and parity was
conserved.
Lee and Yang said they were the same particle but parity was not conserved in
weak interaction!
Lee and Yang win Nobel Prize when parity violation was discovered.
Note: q+/t+ is now known as the K+.
M&S pages 240-248
PARITY VIOLATION IN B-DECAY
 Classic experiment of Wu et. al.
(Phys. Rev. V105, Jan. 15, 1957)
looked at b spectrum from:
60
27 Co  28
60
Ni *  e -   e
followed by:
60
28 Ni  28
* 60
Ni *   (1.17 )   (1.33)

Note: 3 other papers reporting

parity violation published within
a month of Wu et. al.!!!!!
PARITY VIOLATION IN B-DECAY

detector

b
detector


detector

60
27 Co  28
60
Ni *  e -   e
followed by:
28 Ni  28 Ni   (1.17 )   (1.33)
60 * 60 *
 CHARGE CONJUGATION
Charge Conjugation (C) turns particles into anti-particles and visa versa.
C(proton) anti-proton C(anti-proton) proton
C(electron) positron C(positron) electron
M&S pages 95-98
CA  A CA  A  C A  A and C A  A
2 2

The operation of Charge Conjugation changes the sign of all intrinsic

additive quantum numbers:
electric charge, baryon #, lepton #, strangeness, etc..
Variables such as spin and momentum do not change sign under C.
The eigenvalues of C are  1 and, like parity, C is a multiplicative quantum number.
It the interaction conserves C then C commutes with the Hamiltonian, [H,C]A=0.
CA  A  cA and C2 A  A  c2  1 strong and EM conserve C
note: c is sometimes called the “charge parity” of the particle. weak violates C
Most particles are NOT eigenstates of C.
Consider a proton with electric charge = q. Let Q= charge operator, then:
Q|q>=q|q> and C|q>=|-q>
CQ|q>=qC|q> = q|-q> and QC|q>=Q|-q> = -q|-q>
[C,Q]|q>=2q|q> Thus C and Q do not commute unless q=0.
We get the same result for all additive quantum numbers!
Only particles that have all additive quantum numbers = 0 are eigenstates of C.
e.g. ,r,w,f,y,U
These particle are said to be “self conjugate”.
 CHARGE CONJUGATION
How do we assign c to particles that are eigenstates of C?
a) photon. Consider the interaction of the photon with the electric field.
As we previously saw the interaction Lagrangian of a photon is:
LEM=JuAu
with Ju the electromagnetic current density and Au the vector potential.
By definition, C changes the sign of the EM field and thus J transforms as:
CJC-1=-J (this is how operators transform in QM)
Since C is conserved by the EM interaction we have:
CLEMC-1= LEM
CJuAuC-1 = JuAu
CJu C -1C AuC-1= -Ju C AuC-1 = JuAu
C AuC-1 = -Au
Thus the photon (as described by A) has c = -1.
A state that is a collection of n photons has c = (-1)n.
b) The po: Experimentally we find that the po decays to 2 s and not 3 s.
BR(p 0   )
 4  10- 7
BR(p   )
0

This is an electromagnetic decay so C is conserved. Therefore we have:

Cpo= (-1)2 = +1
particles with the same quantum numbers as the photon (,r,w,f,y,U) have c = -1.
particles with the same quantum numbers as the po (,) have c = +1.
CHARGE CONJUGATION AND PARITY
Experimentally we find that all neutrinos are left handed and anti-neutrinos
are right handed (assuming massless neutrinos).
By left or right handed we mean:
left handed: spin and z component of momentum are anti-parallel
right handed: spin and z component of momentum are parallel
This left/right handedness is illustrated in p+l+l decay:
BR(p   e e )
 
 1.23  10- 4 BR=branching ratio
BR(p  m  m )
If neutrinos were not left handed, the ratio would be > 1! v
Se,m p S
W+
pp=0
pe,m Sp=0 p e+

M&S pages 240-246

 CHARGE CONJUGATION AND PARITY
In the strong and EM interaction C and P are conserved separately.
In the weak interaction we know that C and P are not conserved separately.
BUT the combination of CP should be conserved!
Consider how a neutrino (and anti-neutrino) transforms under C, P, and CP.
Experimentally we find that all neutrinos are left handed and anti-neutrinos
are right handed.

 parity right handed 

s
p s
p
CP
C C


left handed  s
s p
p parity

So, CP should be a good symmetry

 NEUTRAL KAONS AND CP VIOLATION
In 1964 it was discovered that the decay of neutral kaons sometimes (10-3) violated CP!
Thus the weak interaction does not always conserve CP!
In 2001 CP violation was observed in the decay of B-mesons.
CP violation is one of the most interesting topics in physics:
The laws of physics are different for particles and anti-particles! M&S pages 248-255
What causes CP violation ? (it is put into Standard Model)
Is the CP violation observed with B’s and K’s the same as the cosmological CP violation?

The neutral kaon is a bound state of a quark and an anti-quark:

k 0  s d k 0  sd
In terms of quark content these are particle and anti-particle. The k0 has
the following additive quantum numbers:
strangeness = +1
charge = baryon # = lepton # = charm = top = 0
I3 = -1/2 note: the k0’s isospin partner is the k+. Also, I3 changes sign for anti-particles.
The k0 and k0 are produced by the strong interaction and have definite strangeness.
Thus they cannot decay via the strong or electromagnetic interaction.
 NEUTRAL KAONS, MIXING, AND CP VIOLATION
The neutral kaon decays via the weak interaction, which does not conserve strangeness.
Let’s assume that the weak interaction conserves CP.
Then the k0 and k0 are NOT the particles that decay weakly since they
are not CP eigenstates.
P | k 0  - | k 0  and P | k 0  - | k 0 
C | k 0 | k 0  and C | k 0 | k 0 
CP | k 0  - | k 0  and CP | k 0  - | k 0 
However, we can make CP eigenstates out of a linear combination of k0 and k0.
1
| k1  (| k 0   | k 0 )
2
This is just a QM system
1
| k 2  (| k 0  - | k 0 ) in two different basis.
2
CP | k1 | k1  and CP | k 2  - | k 2 

If CP is conserved in the decay of k1 and k2 then we expect the following decay modes:
k1two pions (p+p- or p0p0 ) (CP = +1 states)
M&S 250-252
k2three pions (p+p-p0 or p0p0p0 ) (CP = -1 states)
In 1964 it was found that every once in a while (1/500) k2two pions !
 T-symmetry or time reversal symmetry
T-symmetry or time reversal symmetry is the theoretical symmetry of physical
laws under the transformation of time reversal:
T: t  -t
T-symmetry implies the conservation of entropy. Since the second law of
thermodynamics means that entropy increases as time flows toward the future, the
macroscopic universe does not in general show symmetry under time reversal. In other
words, time is said to be non-symmetric, or asymmetric, except for special equilibrium
states when the second law of thermodynamics predicts the time symmetry to hold.
EFFECT OF TIME REVERSAL ON SOME
VARIABLES OF CLASSICAL PHYSICS

EVEN ODD
 CPT SYMMETRY

 Charge, parity, and time reversal symmetry is a

fundamental symmetry of physical laws under the
simultaneous transformations of charge
conjugation (C), parity transformation (P), and time
reversal (T). CPT is the only combination of C, P, and T
that is observed to be an exact symmetry of nature
at the fundamental level. The CPT theorem says that
CPT symmetry holds for all physical phenomena, or
more precisely, that any Lorentz
invariant local quantum field theory with
a Hermitian Hamiltonian must have CPT symmetry.