Goldstone theorem states every spontaneously broken continuous symmetry produces a massless boson
Image: MarinaVladivostok, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Goldstone boson
Goldstone theorem states every spontaneously broken continuous symmetry produces a massless boson
Goldstone bosons arise due to spontaneous symmetry breaking in physical systems. These bosons are characterized by having no mass when the broken symmetry is not explicitly broken.
Example
In BCS superconductivity, Goldstone bosons correspond to the collective excitations of Cooper pairs breaking the U(1) symmetry spontaneously.
Understanding Goldstone bosons is crucial for comprehending phenomena in condensed matter physics and quantum field theory.
Related concepts
Spontaneous symmetry breaking
Spontaneous symmetry breaking occurs even when laws retain symmetry
Noether's theorem
Noether's theorem links continuous symmetries to conservation laws
Eastin–Knill theorem
No quantum error correcting code can have a continuous symmetry acting transversely on physical qubits
Higgs mechanism
W and Z bosons have masses around 80 GeV/c²
Gauge theory
Gauge theories are invariant under local transformations
Spin–statistics theorem
Spin-statistics theorem links particle spin to statistics
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