# Energy and momentum density of thermal gluon oscillations

## I  Introduction

Zero temperature. At zero temperature the canonical operator formalism guarantees that a gluon of frequency $`\omega `$ has a field configuration with energy density $`\omega /V`$. The same result can be obtained from the propagator because the residue of the pole in the propagator at $`\omega =k`$ fixes the potential of a transverse gluon to be

$$\stackrel{}{A}=\widehat{ϵ}\left(\frac{Z_3}{2kV}\right)^{1/2}e^{i(\stackrel{}{k}\stackrel{}{r}kt)}$$
(1)   
The resulting electric and magnetic fields have an energy density $`(|\stackrel{}{E}|^2+|\stackrel{}{B}|^2)/Z_3=\omega /V`$. In a covariant gauge the factor $`1/Z_3`$ may be viewed as the constant value of the electric permittivity and magnetic permeability $`1/ϵ=\mu =Z_3`$ for on-shell gluons in the vacuum, and the energy density is $`ϵ|\stackrel{}{E}|^2+|\stackrel{}{B}|^2/\mu =\omega /V`$. It is important to realize that $`Z_3`$ is a complicated function of the coupling constant and depends on the infrared and ultraviolet regularization. But the statement that the energy density is $`\omega /V`$ is exact. It is useful to restate this result. Suppose the full zero-temperature effective action $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(A,\psi )`$ were known and from this the energy-momentum tensor $`T^{\mu \nu }(A,\psi )`$ could be constructed. The energy density $`T^{00}`$ would contain terms quadratic in $`A`$, as well as cubic and higher powers and also terms containing $`\psi `$. If the value of $`A`$ is put at the one-gluon value (1.1) it is the quadratic term in the exact $`T^{00}`$ that would equal $`\omega /V`$. Terms in $`T^{00}`$ that contain higher powers of $`A`$ do not describe the energy of a single on-shell gluon and should not be included.

Hard thermal loop approximation. At non-zero temperature the analysis of the field energy of thermal gluon oscillations has previously been done within the hard thermal loop approximation of Braaten and Pisarski \[1-3\]. This is a consistent high-temperature approximation to QCD in which only the order $`T^2`$ contributions of all one-loop diagrams are retained. The gluon self-energy is gauge invariant and satisfies $`K_\mu \mathrm{\Pi }_{\mathrm{htl}}^{\mu \nu }=0`$. The poles in the gluon propagator are not on the light cone. For the two polarizations transverse to the wave-vector $`\stackrel{}{k}`$ the pole is at a frequency $`\omega _T(k)`$ that is proportional to $`gT`$ but with a complicated dependence on $`k`$. There is another pole in the propagator for gluons polarized longitudinally, i.e. parallel to $`\stackrel{}{k}`$, and this pole is at a different frequency $`\omega _L(k)`$. The energy density of the fields is not proportional to $`|\stackrel{}{E}|^2+|\stackrel{}{B}|^2`$. The analysis of the energy and momentum has been specific to the detailed properties of the hard thermal loop approximation. Because the off-shell amplitudes with any number of external gluons have the remarkable property of being gauge-fixing independent and obeying abelian Ward identities , it is possible to construct effective actions that generate all the hard thermal loops \[3,5-11\]. The effective actions are highly non-local and consequently the canonical procedures for constructing the energy-momentum tensor do not apply. The full energy-momentum tensor contains quadratic and all higher all powers of the vector potential $`A^\mu `$ since they summarize all higher correlations. From the Braaten-Pisarski form of the action , I constructed a conserved energy momentum tensor  but the quadratic part of that $`T^{00}`$ does not give the physical energy density $`\omega _a/V`$ for the two modes. Other authors have constructed different conserved energy-momentum tensors \[13-15\], also containing all higher powers of $`A^\mu `$, and have generalized them to curved space-time . The non-uniqueness of $`T^{\mu \nu }`$ is expected since a term $`_\alpha X^{\alpha \mu \nu }`$ will be conserved with respect to $`_\mu `$ for any $`X^{\alpha \mu \nu }`$ that is antisymmetric under interchange of $`\alpha `$ and $`\mu `$. Blaizot and Iancu  found an energy-momentum tensor that does give the correct energy densities for the transverse and longitudinal plane waves. It differs from  by such a total derivative term. In these analyses the detailed structure of the quadratic, cubic, and all higher correlations are related by the Ward identities. Consequently even in the quadratic approximation the specific $`k`$\- dependence of $`\omega _T(k)`$ and $`\omega _L(k)`$ is essential.

The purpose of the present paper is to go beyond the hard thermal loop approximation in computing the field energy of the thermal gluon oscillations. This question is simple enough that it can be answered exactly just from the structure of the exact gluon propagator . The inverse of the propagator gives the quadratic term in effective action. As emphasized above, experience with the hard thermal loop approximation shows that the spatial and temporal non-localities of the quadratic action prevent a unique construction of even the quadratic terms in energy-momentum tensor. In this paper a physical argument will be used along the following lines. First, the quadratic terms in the action are used to obtain the linear field equation $`\delta \mathrm{\Gamma }(A)/\delta A_\mu (x)=J^\mu (x)`$ for the gluon potentials in the presence of an arbitrary color current $`J^\mu `$. In coordinate space this will turn out to be Maxwell’s equation

$$_\mu H^{\mu \nu }=J_{\mathrm{free}}^\nu +𝒪(J^2)$$
(2)   
in a media characterized by an electric permittivity $`ϵ(K)`$ and a magnetic permeability $`\mu (K)`$ that are related to the gluon self-energy. Thus even in the exact theory, the gluon oscillations have many features in common with the classical electrodynamics of a classical plasma. Although the color electric field $`\stackrel{}{E}`$ and the color magnetic induction field $`\stackrel{}{B}`$ are produced by all the quarks and gluons, the contribution of the moving quarks and gluons to the self-energy tensor produces polarization and magnetization currents which are incorporated into the electric displacement field $`D_{\mathrm{}}=ϵ(K)E_{\mathrm{}}(K)=H_0\mathrm{}`$ and the magnetic field $`H_{\mathrm{}}(K)=B_{\mathrm{}}(K)/\mu (K)=ϵ_{\mathrm{}mn}H_{mn}/2`$. The sources of these macroscopic fields is referred to as the free current $`J_{\mathrm{free}}^\mu `$. The label ‘free’ does not mean trivial, but rather that the polarization and magnetization currents are not included in this current as that would be double counting. In terms of Feynman diagrams $`J_{\mathrm{free}}^\mu `$ is one-gluon-irreducible because the self-energy effects of the gluon are contained in the electric permittivity $`ϵ(K)`$ and the magnetic permeability $`\mu (K)`$.

The next step is to construct the energy and momentum density of the gluon fields. The energy and momentum of a source-free plane wave cannot be simply identified. Instead it is necesary to examine field configurations that are not completely source-free and thus are not precisely plane waves. The energy and momentum of such modulated waves can be determined from the currents that radiate those fields. The essential physical step is to realize that the power supplied to the fields and the force exerted on the fields is given by the real part of $`J_{\mathrm{free}}^\alpha F_\alpha ^\nu `$ for harmonic time dependence. This is expressed in the identity

$$^\mu \left(H_{\mu \lambda }^{}F^{\lambda \nu }\right)+\frac{1}{2}H_{\lambda \alpha }^{}\left(^\nu F^{\lambda \alpha }\right)=J_{\alpha \mathrm{free}}^{}F^{\alpha \nu }.$$
(3)   
Since the right hand side gives the rate of energy and momentum input to the fields by the currents, the left hand side must describe the energy and momentum content of the field configurations. To use (1.3) one must solve Maxwell’s equations in the presence of a weak source $`J_{\mathrm{free}}^\alpha `$ that supplies energy and momentum to the fields. The source produces modulated fields of the form $`\mathrm{exp}(ikzi\omega t)f(z,t)`$ where $`\stackrel{}{E},\stackrel{}{B},\stackrel{}{D},\stackrel{}{H}`$ all have different modulation functions $`f`$ because of the dispersion. Keeping terms to first order in $`f/t`$ and $`f/z`$ reduces the left side of (1.3) to a total derivative:

$$_\mu T^{\mu \nu }=\mathrm{Re}(J_{\alpha \mathrm{free}}^{}F^{\alpha \nu })$$
(4)   
Since there is absorption in the plasma the energy and momentum of any traveling wave will not truly be constant in time. In applying (1.4) it is necessary to neglect the damping or, equivalently, to neglect the imaginary parts of $`ϵ(K)`$ and $`\mu (K)`$. This is a physical limitation. Thus although the poles in the gluon propagator occur at complex values of frequency, only the real parts $`\omega _T(k)`$ and $`\omega _L(k)`$ will be retained. In the limit that the source $`J_{\mathrm{free}}^\alpha 0`$ the modulated fields become plane wave fields whose magnitude is completely fixed by the residues of the poles in the propagator. For these plane wave modes of single gluons the energy-momentum tensor in either mode is

$$T_a^{\mu \nu }=\frac{1}{V}\left(\begin{array}{cc}\omega _a& k^n\\ v_a^m\omega _a& v_a^mk^n\end{array}\right)a=T\mathrm{or}L$$
(5)   
where $`v_T=d\omega _T/dk`$ and $`v_L=d\omega _L/dk`$ are the group velocities. By the theorem of Kobes, Kunstatter and Rebhan  the functions $`\omega _T(k)`$ and $`\omega _L(k)`$ are gauge invariant. The components of (1.4) satisfy simple physical checks. First, the energy density $`T^{00}=\omega /V`$ and the momentum density $`T^{0n}=k^n/V`$. Because the energy and momentum are transported at the group velocity, $`T^{m0}=v^mT^{00}`$ and $`T^{mn}=v^mT^{0n}`$. No assumption is made about the form of the dispersion relations $`\omega _T(k)`$ and $`\omega _L(k)`$. (Note that $`T^{\mu \nu }`$ would be symmetric for dispersion relations of the form form $`\omega =(k^2+m^2)^{1/2}`$ because then $`\stackrel{}{v}\omega =\stackrel{}{k}`$. That is certainly not the case here.)

The analysis performed here is intended to be simple and physical. It is a generalization of old results in optics and classical plasmas \[19-21\]. In those contexts $`ϵ`$ is assumed independent of $`k`$ and $`\mu =1`$. Most treatments are rather unphysical in that they omit discussion of the external current that supplies the energy and momentum content of the fields even thought the modulated fields are only possible with external sources.

The remainder of the paper is organized so that all physics is deduced from the exact thermal gluon propagator. Sec 2 uses the poles in the propagator to obtain the normalized transverse and longitudinal plane waves. Sec 3 derives Maxwell’s equations from the gluon propagator and the relation of $`ϵ(K)`$ and $`\mu (K)`$ to the gluon self-energy. Sec 4 deduces the energy and momentum for the transverse mode. Sec 5 does the same for the longitudinal mode.

## II Poles in the thermal gluon propagator

### A Gluon propagator in general linear gauges

One of the first obstacles in constructing the exact propagator for finite temperature gluons is that $`K_\mu \mathrm{\Pi }^{\mu \nu }0`$ \[22-25\]. It was shown in  that for any linear gauge-fixing condition the Slavnov-Taylor implies that $`\mathrm{Det}\left[K^2\delta _\nu ^\mu +K^\mu K_\nu +\mathrm{\Pi }_\nu ^\mu \right]=0`$. Local gauge invariance requires one of the four eigenvalues to be zero for all $`K^\mu `$. This provides a non-linear condition on the self-energy tensor \[24-28\]. It is easiest to work with a gauge-fixing that preserves the rotational invariance of the plasma rest frame. These include covariant gauges, Coulomb gauges, and temporal gauges. In rotationally covariant gauges the gluon polarizations that are transverse to the spatial momentum $`\stackrel{}{k}`$ are isolated by the projection tensor

$$A^{\mu \nu }|_{\mathrm{rest}}=\left(\begin{array}{cc}0& 0\\ 0& \delta ^{mn}+\widehat{k}^m\widehat{k}^n\end{array}\right).$$
(6)   
The gluon four-momentum is $`K^\mu `$ and a related vector in which the energy and momentum components are reversed is denoted by $`\stackrel{~}{K}^\mu `$:

$$K^\mu =(\omega ,\stackrel{}{k})\stackrel{~}{K}^\mu =(k,\omega \widehat{k})$$
(7)   
The new vector satisfies $`\stackrel{~}{K}^2=K^2`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{K}K=0`$. The same construction applies to any vector whose spatial component is along $`\widehat{k}`$:

$$V^\mu =(v_0,v\widehat{k})\stackrel{~}{V}^\mu =(v,v_0\widehat{k})$$
(8)   
These satisfy $`\stackrel{~}{V}^2=V^2`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{V}V=0`$. For a linear gauge-fixing condition that preserves the rotational invariance the inverse of the free propagator has the form

$$\left[D_{\mathrm{free}}^1(K)\right]^{\mu \nu }=K^2g^{\mu \nu }+K^\mu K^\nu \frac{F^\mu F^\nu }{\xi }$$
(9)   
where the gauge-fixing vector $`F^\mu `$ has spatial components parallel to $`\widehat{k}`$. The free propagator is

$$D_{\mathrm{free}}^{\mu \nu }(K)=\frac{A^{\mu \nu }}{K^2}+\frac{\stackrel{~}{F}^\mu \stackrel{~}{F}^\nu }{(FK)^2}\xi \frac{K^\mu K^\nu }{(FK)^2}$$
(10)   
Familiar examples of this include covariant gauges $`[\stackrel{~}{F}^\mu =\stackrel{~}{K}^\mu ]`$, Coulomb gauges $`[\stackrel{~}{F}^\mu =(k,0,0,0)]`$, and temporal gauges $`[\stackrel{~}{F}^\mu =(0,\widehat{k})]`$. Including interactions gives a proper self-energy tensor of the form

$$\mathrm{\Pi }^{\mu \nu }=\mathrm{\Pi }_TA^{\mu \nu }+\mathrm{\Pi }_L\frac{\stackrel{~}{K}^\mu \stackrel{~}{K}^\nu }{\stackrel{~}{K}^2}+\mathrm{\Pi }_C\frac{K^\mu \stackrel{~}{K}^\nu +\stackrel{~}{K}^\mu K^\nu }{K^2}+\mathrm{\Pi }_D\frac{K^\mu K^\nu }{K^2}$$
(11)   
because of rotational invariance \[24-28\]. (For QED and also for QCD in the hard thermal loop approximation $`\mathrm{\Pi }_C=\mathrm{\Pi }_D=0`$.) The Slavnov-Taylor condition leads to $`\mathrm{\Pi }_C=\sigma \sqrt{(K^2\mathrm{\Pi }_L)\mathrm{\Pi }_D}`$. and the full propagator is

$$D^{\mu \nu }(K)=\frac{A^{\mu \nu }}{K^2\mathrm{\Pi }_T}+K^2\frac{\stackrel{~}{F}^\mu \stackrel{~}{F}^\nu }{(FH)^2}\xi \frac{H^\mu H^\nu }{(FH)^2},$$
(12)   
where $`H^\mu =K^\mu \sqrt{K^2\mathrm{\Pi }_L}+\sigma \stackrel{~}{K}^\mu \sqrt{\mathrm{\Pi }_D}`$. See also . The second denominator may be written directly in terms of the self-energy tensor as

$$\frac{(FH)^2}{K^2}=(FK)^2+\stackrel{~}{F}_\mu \stackrel{~}{F}_\nu \mathrm{\Pi }^{\mu \nu }$$
(13)   
The longitudinal denominator for three simple gauge choices are as follows:

$`\mathrm{Covariant}:{\displaystyle \frac{(FH)^2}{K^2}}`$ $`=`$ $`(K^2)^2+\stackrel{~}{K}_\mu \stackrel{~}{K}_\nu \mathrm{\Pi }^{\mu \nu }`$ (14)   
$`\mathrm{Coulomb}:{\displaystyle \frac{(FH)^2}{K^2}}`$ $`=`$ $`k^2\left(k^2+\mathrm{\Pi }^{00}\right)`$ (15)   
$`\mathrm{Temporal}:{\displaystyle \frac{(FH)^2}{K^2}}`$ $`=`$ $`k_0^2+\widehat{k}^m\widehat{k}^n\mathrm{\Pi }^{mn}`$ (16)   
It is sometimes convenient to parametrize the gauge-fixing vector as $`F^\mu =f_1K^\mu +f_2\stackrel{~}{K}^\mu `$ so that $`FH=K^2\left(f_1\sqrt{K^2\mathrm{\Pi }_L}\sigma f_2\sqrt{\mathrm{\Pi }_D}\right)`$.

### B Transverse plane waves

The poles in the propagator (12) determine the freely propagating plane wave solutions. For the transverse mode the value of $`\omega `$ for which $`K^2=\mathrm{\Pi }_T`$ defines the complex energy $`\omega _T^c=\omega _Ti\gamma _T`$. At this pole

$$\omega \omega _T^c:D^{mn}(K)\frac{Z_T}{2\omega _T^c(\omega \omega _T^c)}(\delta ^{mn}\widehat{k}^m\widehat{k}^n),$$
(17)   
where the wave function renormalization factor is defined by

$$\frac{2\omega _T^c}{Z_T}=\frac{}{\omega }(K^2\mathrm{\Pi }_T)|_{\omega _T^c}.$$
(18)   
The residue of the pole fixes the normalization of the vector potential for one transverse gluon to be

$$\stackrel{}{A}=i\widehat{ϵ}\left(\frac{Z_T}{2\omega _T^cV}\right)^{1/2}e^{i(\stackrel{}{k}\stackrel{}{r}\omega _T^ct)}$$
(19)   
with $`V`$ the quantization volume. The phase factor $`i`$ has been chosen for later convenience. As usual $`\widehat{ϵ}`$ is a unit vector satisfying $`\stackrel{}{k}\widehat{ϵ}=0`$. For definiteness the direction of propagation will be chosen as the $`z`$ axis and the direction of polarization as the $`x`$ axis:

$$A_x=i\left(\frac{Z_T}{2\omega _T^cV}\right)^{1/2}e^{i(kz\omega _T^ct)}$$
(20)   
The corresponding fields are

$$E_x=\omega _T^c\left(\frac{Z_T}{2\omega _T^cV}\right)^{1/2}e^{i(kz\omega _T^ct)}B_y=k\left(\frac{Z_T}{2\omega _T^cV}\right)^{1/2}e^{i(kz\omega _T^ct)}$$
(21)   
It will be shown later that these fields propagate freely in that they satisfy Maxwell’s equations with an electric permittivity $`ϵ`$ and a magnetic permeability $`\mu `$ but with with no free current.

### C Longitudinal plane waves

When $`(FH)^2=0`$ the propagator (12) has a different pole which will be called longitudinal because the resulting electric field is along the spatial wave vector $`\stackrel{}{k}`$ and there is no magnetic field. The value of $`\omega `$ at which the denominator $`(FH)^2`$ vanishes defines the complex energy $`\omega _L^c`$, which has real and imaginary parts $`\omega _L^c=\omega _Li\gamma _L`$. The propagator at this pole behaves as

$$\omega \omega _L^c:D^{\mu \nu }(K)\frac{Z_L}{2\omega _L^c(\omega \omega _L^c)}\frac{\stackrel{~}{F}^\mu \stackrel{~}{F}^\nu }{K^2}$$
(22)   
where the $`\xi `$ dependent tensor in (12) is omitted. The wave function renormalization factor for the longitudinal mode is

$$\frac{2\omega _L^c}{Z_L}=\frac{}{\omega }\left(\frac{FH}{K^2}\right)^2|_{\omega _L^c}.$$
(23)   
The coefficient of the pole fixes the normalization of the vector potential for one longitudinal gluon to be

$$A^\mu =i\left(\frac{Z_L}{2\omega _L^cVK_L^2}\right)^{1/2}\stackrel{~}{F}^\mu e^{i(\stackrel{}{k}\stackrel{}{r}\omega _L^ct)}$$
(24)   
where the phase factor $`i`$ has been chosen for later convenience. Since

$$\stackrel{~}{F}^\mu =f_1\stackrel{~}{K}^\mu +f_2K^\mu =f_1\frac{K^2}{k}u^\mu +(f_1\frac{\omega }{k}+f_2)K^\mu $$
(25)   
the potential is

$$A^\mu =i\frac{f_1}{k}\left(\frac{Z_LK_L^2}{2\omega _L^cV}\right)^{1/2}u^\mu e^{iK_Lx}+(\mathrm{})K^\mu .$$
(26)   
The omitted terms proportional to $`K^\mu `$ do not contribute to the abelian field strength. Only the potential along $`u^\mu `$ is non-trivial and in the plasma rest frame the only non-vanishing field is

$$E_z=f_1\left(\frac{Z_LK_L^2}{2\omega _L^cV}\right)^{1/2}e^{i(kz\omega _L^ct)}.$$
(27)   
Since there is no magnetic field, the way in which this mode transports momentum is particularly subtle.

## III Maxwell’s equations from the gluon propagator

The previous section displayed the plane waves that come from the propagator poles. This section will show that the off-shell gluon propagator implies Maxwell’s equations in a media.

### A Electric and magnetic phenomena

Current conservation. The gluon propagator determines the quadratic term in the generating functional for one-particle-irreducible diagrams in the presence of a colored source current $`J_\mu ^a`$:

$$W(J)=\frac{1}{2}d^4xd^4yJ_\mu ^a(x)D^{\mu \nu }(xy)J_\nu ^a(y)+𝒪(J^3).$$
(28)   
All four components of $`J_\mu `$ are independent variables, not constrained by current conservation. In order to obtain the equation of motion for the gauge potentials it is necessary to impose color conservation, $`D_\mu ^{ac}J^{c\mu }=0`$, where

$$D_\mu ^{ac}\delta ^{ac}_\mu gf^{abc}\frac{\delta W}{\delta J^{b\mu }(x)}$$
(29)   
To impose the constraint it is convenient to introduce a Lagrange multiplier function $`\psi (x)`$ and vary all four components of $`J_\mu `$ independently in the functional

$$W^{}(J)=W(J)\frac{1}{2}d^4x\psi (x)(D^\mu J_\mu )^a(D^\nu J_\mu )^a$$
(30)   
The resulting vector potential $`A^\mu =\delta W^{}/\delta J_\mu `$ is

$$A^{a\mu }(x)=d^4yD^{\mu \nu }(xy)J_\nu ^a(y)+\psi (x)^\mu ^\nu J_\nu ^a(x)+𝒪(J^2)$$
(31)   
In momentum space

$$A^{a\mu }(K)=\left[D^{\mu \nu }(K)\mathrm{\Psi }K^\mu K^\nu \right]J_\nu ^a(K)+𝒪(J^2),$$
(32)   
where $`\mathrm{\Psi }\psi (K)`$. From now on the color indices will be omitted. To solve for the Lagrange multiplier function, contract both sides of the above with the vector $`F_\mu `$ and use the fact that (12) satisfies $`F_\mu D^{\mu \nu }=\xi H^\nu J_\nu /(FH)`$ to get:

$$F_\mu A^\mu (K)=\frac{\xi }{FH}H^\nu J_\nu (K)\mathrm{\Psi }(FK)K^\nu J_\nu (K)$$
(33)   
Substituting this into (32) and rearranging gives

$$A^\mu (K)=\left[D^{\mu \nu }(K)+\xi \frac{K^\mu H^\nu }{(FK)(FH)}\right]J_\nu (K),$$
(34)   
where

$$A^\mu (K)\left[g^{\mu \nu }\frac{K^\mu F^\nu }{KF}\right]A_\nu (K).$$
(35)   
This potential satisfies the gauge condition $`F_\mu A^\mu (K)=0`$. In coordinate space (34) is the integral equation for $`A^\mu `$. By multiplying from the left by the tensor shown below, (34) can be converted into the differential equation

$$\left[(K^2+\mathrm{\Pi }_T)A^{\alpha \mu }+\left(\frac{FH}{f_1K^2}\right)^2\frac{\stackrel{~}{K}^\alpha \stackrel{~}{K}^\mu }{K^2}\right]A_\mu ^{}(K)=J_{\mathrm{free}}^\alpha (K),$$
(36)   
where the free current is defined as

$$J_{\mathrm{free}}^\alpha (K)J^\alpha (K)+\xi \mathrm{\Pi }_D\frac{\stackrel{~}{K}^\alpha \stackrel{~}{K}^\nu J_\nu (K)}{(f_1K^2)^2}$$
(37)   
and satisfies $`K_\alpha J_{\mathrm{free}}^\alpha (K)=0`$. The transverse plane waves of Sec 2.2 at $`K^2\mathrm{\Pi }_T=0`$ propagate with $`J_{\mathrm{free}}=0`$. Similarly the longitudinal plane waves of Sec 2.3 at $`(FH)^2=0`$ propagate with $`J_{\mathrm{free}}=0`$. It is sometimes useful to have the inverse form of (36):

$$A_\mu ^{}(K)=\left[\frac{A_{\mu \nu }}{K^2\mathrm{\Pi }_T}+K^2\frac{\stackrel{~}{F}_\mu \stackrel{~}{F}_\nu }{(FH)^2}\right]J_{\mathrm{free}}^\nu (K)$$
(38)   
Identification of $`ϵ`$ and $`\mu `$. Equations (36) are the inhomogeneous Maxwell equations in a media characterized by an electric permittivity $`ϵ`$ and a magnetic permeability $`\mu `$. To see this one needs to separate the electric and magnetic component of $`\stackrel{~}{K}^\mu A_\mu ^{}(K)`$ by using

$$\widehat{k}^{\mathrm{}}\stackrel{~}{K}^\mu A_\mu ^{}(K)(K)=i\stackrel{}{E}^{\mathrm{}}(K)+\omega \left(\delta ^\mathrm{}m\widehat{k}^{\mathrm{}}\widehat{k}^m\right)A^m(K),$$
(39)   
where $`\stackrel{}{E}(K)=i\stackrel{}{k}A^0(K)+i\omega \stackrel{}{A}^{}(K)(K)`$. The $`\alpha =0`$ component of (36) is

$$ϵ(k,\omega )i\stackrel{}{k}\stackrel{}{E}(K)=J_{\mathrm{free}}^0,$$
(40)   
with a gauge-dependent electric permitivity given by

$$ϵ(k,\omega )=\frac{1}{K^2}\left(\frac{FH}{f_1K^2}\right)^2=1+\frac{\stackrel{~}{F}_\mu \stackrel{~}{F}_\nu \mathrm{\Pi }^{\mu \nu }}{(FK)^2}.$$
(41)   
The electric displacement field is $`\stackrel{}{D}(K)=ϵ\stackrel{}{E}(K)`$. Next comes the Ampere-Maxwell equation, which is contained in the spatial components of (36):

$$(K^2\mathrm{\Pi }_T)(\delta ^\mathrm{}m+\widehat{k}^{\mathrm{}}\widehat{k}^m)A^m(K)+ϵ(k,\omega )\omega \widehat{k}^{\mathrm{}}\stackrel{~}{K}^\mu A_\mu ^{}(K)=J_{\mathrm{free}}^{\mathrm{}}.$$
(42)   
Using (39) this becomes

$$\frac{1}{\mu (k,\omega )}i\stackrel{}{k}\times \stackrel{}{B}(K)+ϵ(k,\omega )i\omega \stackrel{}{E}(K)=\stackrel{}{J}^{\mathrm{ext}},$$
(43)   
where $`\stackrel{}{B}(K)=i\stackrel{}{k}\times \stackrel{}{A}^{}(K)`$ is the magnetic induction field and the gauge-dependent magnetic permeability is

$$\frac{1}{\mu (k,\omega )}=\frac{1}{k^2}\left[K^2+\mathrm{\Pi }_T+\omega ^2ϵ(k,\omega )\right].$$
(44)   
The magnetic field is $`\stackrel{}{H}(K)=\stackrel{}{B}(K)/\mu `$.

### B Energy and Momentum Conservation

In coordinate space the inhomogeneous equations (40) and (43) take the familiar form

$$\stackrel{}{}\stackrel{}{D}=J_{\mathrm{free}}^0\stackrel{}{}\times \stackrel{}{H}\frac{\stackrel{}{D}}{t}=\stackrel{}{J}_{\mathrm{free}}.$$
(45)   
The two homogeneous equations, $`\stackrel{}{}\stackrel{}{B}=0`$ and $`\stackrel{}{}\times \stackrel{}{E}+\stackrel{}{B}/t=0`$, are true for any $`A^\mu `$. These results can be expressed in terms of the tensors

$$H^{\mu \nu }=\left(\begin{array}{cccc}\hfill 0& \hfill D_x& \hfill D_y& \hfill D_z\\ \hfill D_x& \hfill 0& \hfill H_z& \hfill H_y\\ \hfill D_y& \hfill H_z& \hfill 0& \hfill H_x\\ \hfill D_z& \hfill H_y& \hfill H_x& \hfill 0\end{array}\right)F^{\mu \nu }=\left(\begin{array}{cccc}\hfill 0& \hfill E_x& \hfill E_y& \hfill E_z\\ \hfill E_x& \hfill 0& \hfill B_z& \hfill B_y\\ \hfill E_y& \hfill B_z& \hfill 0& \hfill B_x\\ \hfill E_z& \hfill B_y& \hfill B_x& \hfill 0\end{array}\right).$$
(46)   
Maxwell’s equations in the rest frame of the plasma can be written

$$_\mu H^{\mu \nu }=J_{\mathrm{free}}^\nu ^\alpha F^{\beta \gamma }+^\beta F^{\gamma \alpha }+^\gamma F^{\alpha \beta }=0.$$
(47)   
In order to identify the energy and momentum in the fields, the essential physical step is to recognize that the work done on the fields by the currents and the force exerted on the fields by the currents are given by the real part of $`J_{\alpha \mathrm{free}}^{}F^{\alpha \nu }`$ for harmonic time dependence. This is expressed in the identity

$$^\mu \left(H_{\mu \lambda }^{}F^{\lambda \nu }\right)+\frac{1}{2}H_{\lambda \alpha }^{}\left(^\nu F^{\lambda \alpha }\right)=J_{\alpha \mathrm{free}}^{}F^{\alpha \nu },$$
(48)   
which follows directly from (47). The $`\nu =0`$ component is

$$\stackrel{}{}(\stackrel{}{H}^{}\times \stackrel{}{E})+\frac{\stackrel{}{D}^{}}{t}\stackrel{}{E}+\stackrel{}{H}^{}\frac{\stackrel{}{B}}{t}=\stackrel{}{J}_{\mathrm{free}}^{}\stackrel{}{E}.$$
(49)   
The right hand side is the power supplied to the fields by the color charges in the source current. The left hand side contains the spatial and temporal changes in the field energy as will later be shown. The $`\nu =1,2,3`$ components of (48) are

$`{\displaystyle \frac{}{t}}(\stackrel{}{D}^{}\times \stackrel{}{B})+(\stackrel{}{}H_j^{})B_j`$ $`B_j_j\stackrel{}{H}^{}+D_j^{}\stackrel{}{}E_j`$ (50)   
$`=`$ $`J_{\mathrm{free}}^0\stackrel{}{E}\stackrel{}{J}_{\mathrm{free}}^{}\times \stackrel{}{B}.`$ (51)   
The right hand side is the force acting on the fields by the color charges. This external force is responsible for changes in the field momentum that are contained on the left hand side.

## IV Transverse gluon oscillations

### A Modulated fields radiated from a current

The transverse plane waves (21) that correspond to poles in the propagator at $`K^2=\mathrm{\Pi }_T`$ are exact solutions of Maxwell’s equations (36) with $`J_{\mathrm{free}}^\mu =0`$. As discussed in Sec 1, to identify the energy and momentum it is necessary to consider a modulated wave of the form

$$E_x=e^{i(kz\omega _Tt)}E_T(z,t),$$
(52)   
where the amplitude function $`E_T(z,t)`$ is almost constant. The only significant variation in the amplitude function should be when the wave is emitted or absorbed (i.e. at large $`|z|`$ and large $`|t|`$). In Fourier space the amplitude is

$$E_T(z,t)=𝑑\alpha 𝑑\beta C_T(\alpha ,\beta )e^{i(\alpha z\beta t)},$$
(53)   
where $`C_T(\alpha ,\beta )`$ should have support only for very small wave vector $`\alpha `$ and very small frequency $`\beta `$. Note that this is not a superposition of source-free fields, which would be the case if $`k+\alpha `$ produced a pole at $`\omega _T+\beta `$. Here $`\alpha `$ and $`\beta `$ are independent variables; the wave is slightly off the mass-shell. The total wave vector and total frequency in (52) will be denoted

$$k^{}k+\alpha \omega ^{}\omega _T+\beta .$$
(54)   
Faraday’s law requires that the magnetic induction field be

$$B_y=e^{i(kz\omega _Tt)}𝑑\alpha 𝑑\beta \frac{k^{}}{\omega ^{}}C_T(\alpha ,\beta )e^{i(\alpha z\beta t)}.$$
(55)   
The constituitive relations then fix the electric displacement field and the magnetic field to be

$$D_x=e^{i(kz\omega _Tt)}𝑑\alpha 𝑑\beta ϵ(k^{},\omega ^{})C_T(\alpha ,\beta )e^{i(\alpha z\beta t)}$$
(56)   
$$H_y=e^{i(kz\omega _Tt)}𝑑\alpha 𝑑\beta \frac{k^{}}{\omega ^{}\mu (k^{},\omega ^{})}C_T(\alpha ,\beta )e^{i(\alpha z\beta t)}.$$
(57)   
The current which radiates these modulated fields can be easily computed from (45). The only non-vanishing component of $`J_{\mathrm{free}}^\mu `$ is $`J_x`$ with

$$J_{x\mathrm{free}}=e^{i(kz\omega _Tt)}𝑑\alpha 𝑑\beta \left[\frac{k^2}{\omega ^{}\mu (k^{},\omega ^{})}\omega ^{}ϵ(k^{},\omega ^{})\right]C_T(\alpha ,\beta )e^{i(\alpha z\beta t)}.$$
(58)   
In the plane wave limit $`C_T(\alpha ,\beta )\delta (\alpha )\delta (\beta )E_0`$ and the source will vanish, i.e. $`J_{x\mathrm{free}}0`$.

The fields $`E_x,D_x,B_y,H_y`$ each have slightly different modulations multiplying the $`\mathrm{exp}(ikzi\omega _Tt)`$ factor. It is these slight differences that will account for the energy balance. For example, in the integrand of $`B_y`$ the factor $`k^{}/\omega ^{}`$ can be expanded to first order as

$$B_y=e^{i(kz\omega _Tt)}𝑑\alpha 𝑑\beta \left(\frac{k}{\omega _T}+\frac{1}{\omega _T}\alpha \frac{k}{\omega _T^2}\beta +\mathrm{}\right)C_T(\alpha ,\beta )e^{i(\alpha z\beta t)}.$$
(59)   
Only these terms are important since $`C_T(\alpha ,\beta )`$ has support only for very small values of $`\alpha `$ and $`\beta `$. Using (53) this can be written as

$$B_y=e^{i(kz\omega _Tt)}\left(\frac{k}{\omega _T}E_T\frac{i}{\omega _T}\frac{E_T}{z}\frac{ik}{\omega _T^2}\frac{E_T}{t}+\mathrm{}\right).$$
(60)   
In the same fashion

$$D_x=e^{i(kz\omega _Tt)}\left(ϵE_Ti\frac{ϵ}{k}\frac{E_T}{z}+i\frac{ϵ}{\omega }\frac{E_T}{t}+\mathrm{}\right)$$
(61)   
$$H_y=e^{i(kz\omega _Tt)}\left(\frac{k}{\omega _T\mu }E_Ti\frac{}{k}\left(\frac{k}{\omega \mu }\right)\frac{E_T}{z}+i\frac{}{\omega }\left(\frac{k}{\omega \mu }\right)\frac{E_T}{t}+\mathrm{}\right).$$
(62)   
Note that $`ϵ,\mu `$, and the partial derivatives are to be evaluated at $`\omega =\omega _T`$. If $`ϵ`$ and $`\mu `$ were constants, then the above relations would reduce to $`D_x=ϵE_x`$ and $`H_y=B_y/\mu `$.

### B Energy Conservation

For the TEM mode with $`\stackrel{}{E}`$ polarized along the $`x`$ axis, the work-energy theorem (49) is

$$\frac{}{z}\mathrm{Re}(H_y^{}E_x)+\mathrm{Re}(\frac{D_x^{}}{t}E_x)+\mathrm{Re}(H_y^{}\frac{B_y}{t})=\mathrm{Re}(J_{x\mathrm{free}}^{}E_x)$$
(63)   
As discussed in Sec 1, it is necessary to treat $`ϵ`$ and $`\mu `$ as real in order to ultimately obtain a time-independent energy. For harmonic fields and currents the real part of each product gives one-half the instantaneous value as will be seen below. To first order in the derivatives of $`E_T`$, the spatial divergence term gives

$$\frac{}{z}\mathrm{Re}(H_y^{}E_x)=\frac{k}{\mu \omega _T}\frac{}{z}|E_T|^2,$$
(64)   
as expected. However the time derivatives in (63) become

$$\mathrm{Re}(\frac{D_x^{}}{t}E_x)=\frac{}{\omega }(\omega ϵ)\frac{}{t}\frac{|E_T|^2}{2}\omega \frac{ϵ}{k}\frac{}{z}\frac{|E_T|^2}{2}$$
(65)   
$$\mathrm{Re}(H_y^{}\frac{B_y}{t})=\frac{}{\omega }\left(\frac{k^2}{\mu \omega }\right)\frac{}{t}\frac{|E_T|^2}{2}+\frac{k^2}{\omega _T}\left(\frac{}{k}\frac{1}{\mu }\right)\frac{}{z}\frac{|E_T|^2}{2}.$$
(66)   
It is because of spatial dispersion, specifically because $`ϵ`$ and $`\mu `$ depend on $`k`$, that the right hand sides of (65) and (66) contain spatial derivatives of $`|E_T|^2`$. The sum of (64)-(66) is

$$\left[\frac{2k}{\mu \omega _T}\omega \frac{ϵ}{k}+\frac{k^2}{\omega _T}\frac{}{k}\frac{1}{\mu }\right]\frac{}{z}\frac{|E_T|^2}{2}+\left[\frac{}{\omega }(\omega ϵ)\frac{}{\omega }\left(\frac{k^2}{\mu \omega }\right)\right]\frac{}{t}\frac{|E_T|^2}{2}.$$

It is convenient to define $`f(k,\omega )\omega ϵk^2/(\omega \mu ).`$ Then the work-energy theorem can be stated as

$$\frac{f}{k}\frac{}{z}\frac{|E_T|^2}{2}+\frac{f}{\omega }\frac{}{t}\frac{|E_T|^2}{2}=\mathrm{Re}(E_xJ_{x\mathrm{ext}}^{}).$$
(67)   
The energy flux and energy density are

$$T^{30}(z,t)=\frac{f}{k}|E_T|^2T^{00}(z,t)=\frac{f}{\omega }|E_T|^2.$$
(68)   
Relation (44) allows $`f`$ to be expressed entirely in terms of the transverse self-energy: $`f(k,\omega )=(K^2\mathrm{\Pi }_T)/\omega `$. The $`k`$ and $`\omega `$ derivatives in (67) are to be evaluated at $`\omega _T`$, i.e. at $`f=0`$. Therefore the energy is transported at the group velocity of the wave:

$$T^{30}(z,t)/T^{00}(z,t)=\left(\frac{f}{k}/\frac{f}{\omega }\right)_{f=0}=\frac{d\omega _T}{dk}.$$
(69)   
Because $`f/\omega `$ is related to the residue $`Z_T`$ through (18), the energy density can be written

$$T^{00}(z,t)=\frac{2}{Z_T}|E_T|^2.$$
(70)   
Plane Wave Limit. The final test of $`T^{00}`$ is that it give the correct energy density in the plane wave limit: $`J_{\mathrm{ext}}^\mu 0`$. The electric field magnitude of the plane wave TEM gluon oscillation is fixed by the propagator to be $`|E_T|^2=\omega _TZ_T/2V`$ in (21). Thus the energy density of one transverse gluon is $`T^{00}=\omega _T/V`$ as it should be.

### C Momentum Conservation

For the TEM mode the equation for momentum conservation (51) is

$$\frac{}{t}(D_x^{}B_y)+\frac{H_y^{}}{z}D_y+D_x^{}\frac{E_x}{z}=J_{x\mathrm{free}}^{}B_y$$
(71)   
Substituting the fields (60)-(62) and taking the real part gives

$$\frac{k}{\omega _T}\frac{f}{k}\frac{}{z}\frac{|E_T|^2}{2}+\frac{k}{\omega _T}\frac{f}{\omega }\frac{}{t}\frac{|E_T|^2}{2}=\mathrm{Re}(J_{x\mathrm{free}}^{}B_y).$$
(72)   
The momentum flux and momentum density are therefore

$$T^{33}=\frac{k}{\omega _T}\frac{f}{k}|E_T|^2T^{03}=\frac{k}{\omega _T}\frac{f}{\omega }|E_T|^2$$
(73)   
The momentum is transported at the group velocity of the wave:

$$T^{33}(z,t)/T^{03}(z,t)=\left(\frac{f}{k}/\frac{f}{\omega }\right)_{f=0}=\frac{d\omega _T}{dk}.$$
(74)   
Using (18) one can write the momentum density as

$$T^{03}=\frac{2k}{\omega _TZ_T}|E_T|^2$$
(75)   
With the plane wave value of $`E_T`$ this gives the correct value $`T^{03}=k/V`$.

## V Longitudinal gluonic oscillations

### A Modulated fields radiated from a current

The longitudinal plane wave (2.22) comes from a pole in the propagator at $`(FH)^2=0`$ satisfying Maxwell’s equations (36) with $`J_{\mathrm{free}}=0`$. To identify the energy and momentum content one needs a modulated wave

$$E_z=e^{i(kz\omega _Lt)}E_L(z,t),$$
(76)   
where the amplitude $`E_L(z,t)`$ is slowly varying in space and in time. The only significant variation should be at $`|z|\mathrm{}`$ and $`|t|\mathrm{}`$. It has the Fourier representation

$$E_L(z,t)=𝑑\alpha 𝑑\beta C_L(\alpha ,\beta )e^{i(\alpha z\beta t)},$$
(77)   
where the function $`C_L(\alpha ,\beta )`$ has support only for small $`\alpha `$ and small $`\beta `$. The electric field has an associated displacement field

$$D_z=e^{i(kz\omega _Lt)}𝑑\alpha 𝑑\beta ϵ(k^{},\omega ^{})C_L(\alpha ,\beta )e^{i(\alpha z\beta t)},$$
(78)   
where $`k^{}k+\alpha `$ and $`\omega ^{}\omega _L+\beta `$ as before. Both $`\stackrel{}{H}`$ and $`\stackrel{}{B}`$ are identically zero. The modulated wave requires an external gluon current with components

$$J_{z\mathrm{free}}=e^{i(kz\omega _Lt)}𝑑\alpha 𝑑\beta i\omega ^{}ϵ(k^{},\omega ^{})C_L(\alpha ,\beta )e^{i(\alpha z\beta t)}$$
(79)   
$$J_{0\mathrm{free}}=e^{i(kz\omega _Lt)}𝑑\alpha 𝑑\beta ik^{}ϵ(k^{},\omega ^{})C_L(\alpha ,\beta )e^{i(\alpha z\beta t)}$$
(80)   
In the plane wave limit $`C_L\delta (\alpha )\delta (\beta )`$ and therefore $`ϵ(k^{},\omega ^{})ϵ(k,\omega _L)=0`$. This means that $`D_z0`$, $`J_z0`$, and $`J_00`$ eventually.

Before taking the plane wave limit, the modulations in $`D_z`$ are different than those of $`E_z`$ because the former includes the field of the polarization charges. To approximate $`D_z`$, expand $`ϵ(k^{},\omega ^{})`$ in a Taylor series:

$$D_z=e^{i(kz\omega _Lt)}𝑑\alpha 𝑑\beta \left(\alpha \frac{ϵ}{k}+\beta \frac{ϵ}{\omega }+\mathrm{}\right)C_L(\alpha ,\beta )e^{i(\alpha z\beta t)}.$$
(81)   
In terms of $`E_L`$ this means that

$$D_z=e^{i(kz\omega _Lt)}\left(i\frac{ϵ}{k}\frac{E_L}{z}+i\frac{ϵ}{\omega }\frac{E_L}{t}+\mathrm{}\right).$$
(82)   
The derivatives of $`ϵ`$ are evaluated at $`ϵ=0`$.

### B Energy Conservation

Since the only nonvanishing fields for the modulated longitudinal mode are $`E_z`$ and $`D_z`$, the work-energy theorem (49) is

$$\mathrm{Re}\left(\frac{D_z^{}}{t}E_z\right)=\mathrm{Re}(J_{z\mathrm{free}}^{}E_z).$$
(83)   
Despite its rather trivial appearance this equation does describe the flow of energy in the plasma. Because of (82)

$$\frac{D_z^{}}{t}E_z=E_L\left(\omega _L\frac{ϵ}{k}\frac{E_L^{}}{z}+\omega _L\frac{ϵ}{\omega }\frac{E_L^{}}{t}+\mathrm{}\right).$$
(84)   
Taking the real part, with $`ϵ`$ assumed real, gives

$$\omega _L\frac{ϵ}{k}\frac{}{z}\frac{|E_L|^2}{2}+\omega _L\frac{ϵ}{\omega }\frac{}{t}\frac{|E_L|^2}{2}=\mathrm{Re}\left(E_zJ_{z\mathrm{free}}^{}\right).$$
(85)   
Thus the energy flux and the energy density are

$$T^{30}=\omega _L\frac{ϵ}{k}|E_L|^2T^{00}=\omega _L\frac{ϵ}{\omega }|E_L|^2,$$
(86)   
with the derivatives evaluated at $`ϵ=0`$. The energy is transported at the group velocity of the longitudinal wave:

$$T^{30}(z,t)/T^{00}(z,t)=\left(\frac{ϵ}{k}/\frac{ϵ}{\omega }\right)_{ϵ=0}=\frac{d\omega _L}{dk}$$
(87)   
Because of (2.18) and (41)

$$\frac{ϵ}{\omega }|_{ϵ=0}=\frac{1}{f_1^2K^2}\frac{2\omega _L}{Z_L}.$$
(88)   
The energy density is therefore

$$T^{00}=\frac{2\omega _L^2}{f_1^2K_L^2Z_L}|E_L|^2$$
(89)   
Plane Wave Limit. Whenever the external current is present the space and time derivatives of $`|E_L(z,t)|^2`$ prescribe the energy transport within the plasma. When the external current is removed, the value of $`T^{00}`$ remains constant. The value of that constant is the energy contained in the wave. The pole in the propagator fixes the amplitude for the free longitudinal gluon mode to be $`|E_L|^2=f_1^2Z_LK_L^2/(2\omega _LV)`$ as shown in (27). The energy density of this mode is therefore $`T^{00}=\omega _L/V`$.

### C Momentum conservation

For the longitudinal mode the force equation (51) is

$$\frac{D_z^{}}{z}E_z=J_{\mathrm{free}}^0E_z.$$
(90)   
Note that although $`J_{z\mathrm{free}}`$ is non-zero, it exerts no force on the plasma charges in this mode because $`\stackrel{}{B}=0`$. Substituting (82) and taking the real part gives

$$k\frac{ϵ}{k}\frac{}{z}\frac{|E_L|^2}{2}+k\frac{ϵ}{\omega }\frac{}{t}\frac{|E_L|^2}{2}=\mathrm{Re}\left(J_{\mathrm{free}}^0E_z\right).$$
(91)   
Thus the momentum flux and momentum density are

$$T^{33}=k\frac{ϵ}{k}|E_L|^2T^{03}=k\frac{ϵ}{\omega }|E_L|^2.$$
(92)   
Momentum is transported at the group velocity of the wave

$$T^{33}(z,t)/T^{03}(z,t)=\left(\frac{ϵ}{k}/\frac{ϵ}{\omega }\right)_{ϵ=0}=\frac{d\omega _L}{dk}.$$
(93)   
The momentum density can also be written

$$T^{03}=\frac{2k\omega _L}{f_1^2K_L^2Z_L}|E_L|^2$$
(94)   
In the plane wave limit $`|E_L|^2=f_1^2Z_LK_L^2/(2\omega _LV)`$ so that $`T^{03}=k/V`$, which is the correct result.

## VI Conclusion

Regardless of the functional dependence of $`\omega _T`$ and $`\omega _L`$ on momentum, temperature, and quark masses the energy density carried by the field of a single gluon of either type has been shown to be $`\omega _T/V`$ and $`\omega _L/V`$, respectively.

###### Acknowledgements.

This work was supported in part by National Science Foundation grant PHY-9630149.