24 Chapter 2 The Klein-Gordon Field
p> 0 branch
? <0 branch
Figure 2.2. The Lorentz-invariant 3-momentum integral is over the upper
branch of the hyperboloid p? = m2,
as being over the p® > 0 branch of the hyperboloid p? = m? in 4-momentum
space (see Fig. 2.2)
Finally let us consider the interpretation of the state (x) 0). From the
expansion (2.25) we see that
a 1
Pe-iP x |p) (2.41)
(9) 10) = J oas 2E,
rosition of single-particle states that have well-defined mo-
mentum, Except for the factor 1/2Bp, this is the same as the familiar nonrel-
ativistic expression for the eigenstate of position |x); in fact the extra factor
ly constant for small (nonrelativistic) p. We will therefore put forward
the same interpretation, and claim that the operator (x), acting on the vac-
uum, creates a particle at position x. This interpretation is further confirmed
when we compute
) @& 1 ,
covets) ip) = (1 f es ae (Wwe abe **) VIE po,
= v
=ebx (2.42)
We can interpret this as the position-space representation of the single-particle
wavefunction of the state |p), just as in nonrelativistic quantum mechanic
(x|p) o e'?* is the wavefunction of the state |p)