Dynamics of nonabelian Dirac monopoles

Thesis



The topological definition of nonabelian magnetic charge is formulated using loop-spaced techniques. the dynamics of both classical and quantum monopoles are explored, and the equations of motion derived. A new Ũ-symmetry, having its origin in the topological definition of the charge is found to exist. A comparison of scattering processes for identical systems of charges vs monopoles is made with the hope of discovering a situation where the predictions of the conventional source formalism and the monopole formalism differ. Both classical and quantum processes are explored; it is shown that in the few simple cases considered, there are no observable experimental consequences in the classical case. Next, quantum scattering is examined and the propagators for the various fields in the theory calculated, by fixing the Ũ-gauge. Ghosts are introduced and shown to decouple from the theory. The simplest Fenyman diagram is calculated for monopole-monopole scattering, and the scattering amplitude found to be of the same form as the corresponding quark-quark diagram. For the case of quantum monopoles the Feynman path-integral approach is used.

Authors: Faridani, J; Jacqueline Faridani

• Publication date: 1994
• DOI: 10.5287/ora-zbqyjgo28
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Subjects: Non-Abelian groups; Feynman diagrams