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arXiv:1201.4965

Zitterbewegung as purely classical phenomenon

А. Н. Тараканов

Published Jan 24, 2012• 1 citation
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Abstract

Nonrelativistic formalism is developed, which allows describing systems with internal degrees of freedom in the scalar potential field $U$, which is a function both on relative coordinates and time, and on relative speed and accelerations. The equation for energy, which is an integral of motion when $U$ satisfies to certain differential condition, is derived for the general case. For a free mass point all solutions of the equations of motion in the center-of-inertia reference frame, moving with constant velocity, are found. As a result, the center of mass follows along helical and more complicated trajectories round a direction of motion of the center of inertia. This motion can be interpreted as trembling movement (Zitterbewegung). On this basis a conclusion is done that Zitterbewegung has purely classical origin, arising even in a nonrelativistic case if internal degrees of freedom are taken into account. The general equation of motion for a spin which can be interpreted from positions of a classical mechanics is written down. Application of the obtained results to the electron leads to new conception of electric charge, sign of which corresponds to a sign of spin polarization.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1201.4965

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Nonrelativistic formalism is developed, which allows describing systems with internal degrees of freedom in the scalar potential field UUU, which is a function both on relative coordinates and time, and on relative speed and accelerations. The equation for energy, which is an integral of motion when UUU satisfies to certain differential condition, is derived for the general case. For a free mass point all solutions of the equations of motion in the center-of-inertia reference frame, moving with constant velocity, are found. As a result, the center of mass follows along helical and more complicated trajectories round a direction of motion of the center of inertia. This motion can be interpreted as trembling movement (Zitterbewegung). On this basis a conclusion is done that Zitterbewegung has purely classical origin, arising even in a nonrelativistic case if internal degrees of freedom are taken into account. The general equation of motion for a spin which can be interpreted from positions of a classical mechanics is written down. Application of the obtained results to the electron leads to new conception of electric charge, sign of which corresponds to a sign of spin polarization.
Nonrelativistic formalism is developed, which allows describing systems with internal degrees of freedom in the scalar potential field U, which is a function both on relative coordinates and time, and on relative speed and accelerations. The equation for energy, which is an integral of motion when U satisfies to certain differential condition, is derived for the general case. For a free mass point all solutions of the equations of motion in the center-of-inertia reference frame, moving with constant velocity, are obtained. As a result, the center of mass follows along a complicated trajectory round a direction of motion of the center of inertia. This motion can be interpreted as Zitterbewegung. It is shown that equation of moments is a consequence of the equation of motion. The general equation of motion for a spin which can be interpreted from positions of a classical mechanics is written down. Application of the obtained results to the electron leads to new conception of electrical charge, sign of which corresponds to a sign of spin polarization.
A neo-classical relativistic mechanics theory is presented where the spin of an electron is a natural part of its space-time path as a point particle. The fourth-order equation of motion corresponds to the same Lagrangian function in proper time as in special relativity except for an additional spin energy term. The total motion can be decomposed into a sum of a local spin motion about a point and a global motion of this point, called the spin center. The global motion is sub-luminal and obeys Newton's second law in proper time, the time for a clock fixed at the spin center, while the total motion occurs at the speed of light c, consistent with the eigenvalues of Dirac's velocity operators having magnitude c. The local spin motion corresponds to Schrödinger's zitterbewegung and is a perpetual motion, which for a free electron has a circular path in the spin-center frame. In an electro-magnetic field, this spin motion generates magnetic and electric dipole energies through the Lorentz force on the electron's point charge. The corresponding electric dipole energy is consistent with the spin-orbit coupling term in the corrected Pauli non-relativistic Hamiltonian but the magnetic dipole energy is one half of that in Dirac's theory. By defining a spin tensor as the angular momentum of the electron's total motion about its spin center, the fundamental equations of motion can be re-written in an identical form to those of the Barut-Zanghi electron theory. These equations of motion can then be expressed using operators applied to a state function of proper time satisfying a Dirac-Schrödinger spinor equation. The operators produce dynamic variables without any probability implications. For the free electron, the state function satisfies Dirac's relativistic wave equation when the Lorentz transformation is applied to express proper time in terms of an observer's space-time coordinates.
The classical equations of motion of a charged point-particle with intrinsic spin under the influence of an external electromagnetic field are restated and compared with the Heisenberg equations of motion derived from the Dirac theory. The partition of angular momentum between particle and field in the classical theory is contrasted to the Dirac theory of electron spin. The analogy between the Dirac equation and the theory of parametric amplification is pointed out.A free spinning point particle moving according to the laws of classical relativistic point-particle mechanics may move along a helix. The sum of the intrinsic spin $\ensuremath{\sigma}$ and the angular momentum of the helical motion in this classical analog of zitterbewegung is an effective spin vector S which is a constant of the motion. Because of this internal motion, the effective mass MMM of the particle differs from the mass mmm which is ascribed to it in the equations of motion. Solutions are found in which S is parallel or antiparallel to the momentum, and the sign of MMM is determined by the helicity. When placed in a uniform electromagnetic field, the particle behaves as if it had a rest mass MMM and a magnetic moment $\frac{e\ensuremath{\sigma}}{\mathrm{Mc}}$, in addition to any explicit magnetic moment that may be ascribed to it.
Zitterbewegung and de Broglie matter waves are both phenomena associated with the quantum-mechanical properties of the electron, but they are usually discussed in different contexts. Zitterbewegung is understood as a rapid oscillatory motion appearing in the Dirac equation, whereas the de Broglie matter wave is understood as a wave corresponding to the linear momentum of a particle. Some previous studies have attempted to derive the de Broglie matter wave from an internal clock of the electron or from Zitterbewegung. In the present study, however, no causal relation in which the matter wave is generated by Zitterbewegung is assumed. Instead, the two are regarded as different geometrical representations of a common phase degree of freedom. Specifically, Zitterbewegung is interpreted as a phenomenon corresponding to an internal rotational degree of freedom, while the de Broglie matter wave is interpreted as spatial phase progression associated with linear momentum. and are interpreted, respectively, as the rates of phase progression in the temporal and spatial directions. Furthermore, using the relation introduced in previous work, and reinterpreting it as the ratio of the internal rotational velocity to the external propagation velocity, this study shows the possibility of describing internal rotation, translational motion, matter waves, and the fine-structure constant within a common phase geometry.
Starting from the Pauli current we obtain the decomposition of the nonrelativistic local velocity in two parts: one parallel and the other orthogonal to the impulse. The former is recognized as the “classical” part, that is, the velocity of the center-of-mass, and the latter the “quantum” one, that is, the velocity of the motion in the center-of-mass frame (namely, the internal “spin motion” or zitterbewegung), Inserting the complete expression of the velocity into the kinetic energy term of the classical nonrelativistic (i.e. Newtonian) Lagrangian, we straightforwardly get the appearance of the so-called quantum potential associated, as it is known, to the Madelung fluid. In such a way, the quantum mechanical behavior of particles appears to be strictly correlated to the existence of spin and zitterbewegung.