16 Chapter 2. The Klein-Gordon Field. and end of this region. If we restrict our consideration to deformations 6¢ that vanish on the spatial boundary of the region as well, then the surface term is zero. Factoring out the 6¢ from the first two terms, we note that, since the integral must vanish for arbitrary 6%, the quantity that multiplies 64 must vanish at all points. Thus we arrive at the Euler-Lagrange equation of motion for a field, a OL iL 2 au (aan) ~ oo. (23) If the Lagrangian contains more than one field, there is one such equation for cach. Hamiltonian Field Theory ‘The Lagrangian formulation of field theory is particularly suited to relativistic dynamics because all expressions are explicitly Lorentz invariant. Nevertheless we will use the Hamiltonian formulation throughout the first part of this book, since it will make the transition to quantum mechanics easier. Recall that for a discrete system one can define a conjugate momentum p = L/0q (where ¢ = q/0t) for each dynamical variable q. The Hamiltonian is then H = pq - L. The generalization to a continuous system is best understood. by pretending that the spatial points x are discretely spaced. We can define oh o J £(o),60) ay P(x) = ~ B6(x) — BB(x) where (2.4) is called the momentum density conjugate to (x). Thus the Hamiltonian can be written . H= > pdx) -L Passing to the continuum, this becomes H= fe [r(x)b(x) — £] = [eon (2.5) We will rederive this expression for the Hamiltonian density H near the end of this section, using a different method As a simple example, consider the theory of a single field (2), governed by the Lagrangian 242 La 38 — 3106) — = 3(0.0)? — 4m?o? 2