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arXiv:1201.0302 · European Journal of Physics

Applying classical geometry intuition to quantum spin

Dallin Durfee, James L. Archibald

Published Jul 20, 2016• 3 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Using concepts of geometric orthogonality and linear independence, we logically deduce the form of the Pauli spin matrices and the relationships between the three spatially orthogonal basis sets of the spin-1/2 system. Rather than a mathematically rigorous derivation, the relationships are found by forcing expectation values of the different basis states to have the properties we expect of a classical, geometric coordinate system. The process highlights the correspondence of quantum angular momentum with classical notions of geometric orthogonality, even for the inherently non-classical spin-1/2 system. In the process, differences in and connections between geometrical space and Hilbert space are illustrated.

DOI
10.1088/0143-0807/37/5/055409

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Using concepts of geometric orthogonality and linear independence, we logically deduce the form of the Pauli spin matrices and the relationships between the three spatially orthogonal basis sets of the spin-1/2 system. Rather than a mathematically rigorous derivation, the relationships are found by forcing expectation values of the different basis states to have the properties we expect of a classical, geometric coordinate system. The process highlights the correspondence of quantum angular momentum with classical notions of geometric orthogonality, even for the inherently non-classical spin-1/2 system. In the process, differences in and connections between geometrical space and Hilbert space are illustrated.
We present an intuition-building activity for the quantum description of angular momentum. Using concepts of orthogonality in space and linear independence, we can logically deduce the relationships between the three spatially orthogonal basis sets of the spin-1/2 system. Rather than a mathematically rigorous derivation, the relationships are found by enforcing properties we expect the basis states to have. The process highlights the correspondence of quantized spin state properties with classical notions of orthogonality, illustrating differences and connections between geometrical space and Hilbert space and dispelling misconceptions often held by students.
Abstract A novel representation of spin 1/2 combines in a single geometric object the standard Pauli spin operator and spin state. Under the spin-position decoupling approximation it consists of the sum of three orthogonal vectors comprising a gauge phase. In the one-spin case the representation: (1) is Hermitian; (2) endowed with handedness; (3) yields all standard results, including the total spin angular momentum; (4) relates basis spins by proper rotations, thus preserving handedness; (5) allows formalizing irreversibility in spin measurement. In the bipartite case: (1) entangled spins have precisely related gauge phases and opposite handedness; (2) maximally entangled spins relate by one of the four improper rotations in 3D: plane-reflections (triplets) and inversion (singlet); (3) the full spin expressions yield the standard total two-spin angular momentum; (4) all standard expected values for bipartite observations follow. Depending on whether spin operations act one – or two – sided, the formalism appears in two complementary forms, the ‘spinor’ or the ‘vector’ form, respectively. The proposed scheme provides a clear geometric picture of spin transformations and correlations in the 3D physical orientation space.
A novel representation of spin 1/2 combines in a single geometric object the standard Pauli spin operator and spin state. Under the spin-position decoupling approximation it consists of the sum of three orthogonal vectors comprising a gauge phase. In the one-spin case the representation: (1) is Hermitian; (2) endowed with handedness; (3) yields all standard results, including the total spin angular momentum S=(√3 ℏ)⁄2; (4) relates basis spins by proper rotations, thus preserving handedness; (5) allows formalizing irreversibility in spin measurement. In the bipartite case: (1) entangled spins have precisely related gauge phases and opposite handedness; (2) maximally entangled spins relate by one of the four improper rotations in 3D: plane-reflections (triplets) and inversion (singlet); (3) the full spin expressions yield the standard total two-spin angular momentum; (4) all standard expected values for bipartite observations follow. Depending on whether spin operations act one – or two – sided, the formalism appears in two complementary forms, the ‘spinor’ or the ‘vector’ form, respectively. The proposed scheme provides a clear geometric picture of spin transformations and correlations in the 3D physical orientation space.
Geometric Quantum Mechanics is a formulation demonstrating how quantum theory may be cast in the language of Hamiltonian phase-space dynamics. Within this framework, the classical properties of spin 1/2, spin 1 and spin 3/2 particles have been studied. The correspondence between the Poisson bracket and commutator algebras for these systems was shown by explicitly computing the value of the commutator of spin operators and comparing it with the Poisson bracket of the corresponding classical observables. This study was extended by comparing the Casimir operator and its classical counterpart. The results showed that there exists a correspondence between classical and quantum Casimir operators at least for the case of spin 1/2. This research clearly shows the limit of classical notions to describe the purely quantum concept.
For a two-dimensional complex vector space, the spin matrices can be calculated directly from the angular momentum commutator definition. The 3 Pauli matrices are retrieved and 23 other triplet solutions are found. In the three-dimensional space, we show that no matrix fulfills the spin equations and preserves the norm of the vectors. By using a Clifford geometric algebra it is possible in the four-dimensional spacetime (STA) to retrieve the 24 different spins 1/2. In this framework, spins 1/2 are rotations characterized by multivectors composed of 3 vectors and 3 bivectors. Spins 1 can be defined as rotations characterized by 4 vectors, 6 bivectors and 4 trivectors which result in unit multivectors which preserve the norm. Let us note that this simple derivation retrieves the main spin properties of particle physics.
Spin-s systems Angular momentum is one of the fundamental quantities of Newtonian physics, and in quantum physics its importance is at least as great. In quantum mechanics we often distinguish between two types of angular momentum: orbital angular momentum , which a system of particles possesses due to particle motion through space; and spin angular momentum , which is an intrinsic property of a particle. The distinction will be important later, but for now we will ignore it. We will here refer to angular momentum of any sort as “spin” and develop general-purpose mathematical tools for its description. We have already dealt with spin systems, particularly the example of a spin-½ particle. Our approach began with the empirical observation that a measurement of any spin component of a spin-½ particle could yield only the results +ħ/2 or −ħ/2. We introduced the basis states | z ±〉 for the two-dimensional Hilbert space ℋ. We also gave other basis states such as {| x ±〉} and {| y ±〉} in terms of the | z ±〉 states. From basis states and measurement values we constructed operators for the spin components S x , S y , and S z . With the operators in hand, we could then examine the algebraic relations between them (such as the commutation relation in Exercise 3.56). Our job here is to generalize our analysis to systems of arbitrary spin. To do this, we will reverse our chain of logic.