In physics, a kinetic term is the part of the Lagrangian that is bilinear in the fields (this does not include the mass term!) (and for nonlinear sigma models, they are not even bilinear), and usually contains two derivatives with respect to time (or space); in the case of fermions, the kinetic term usually has one derivative only. The equation of motion derived from such a Lagrangian contains differential operators which are generated by the kinetic term.
In mechanics, the kinetic term is
In quantum field theory, the kinetic term for real scalar fields, electromagnetic field and Dirac field are
respectively.
Famous quotes containing the words kinetic and/or term:
“The poem has a social effect of some kind whether or not the poet wills it to have. It has kinetic force, it sets in motion ... [ellipsis in source] elements in the reader that would otherwise be stagnant.”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
“Be near me when I fade away,
To point the term of human strife,
And on the low dark verge of life
The twilight of eternal day.”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)