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Particle localization, spinor two-valuedness, and Fermi quantization of tensor systems

Frank Reifler, Randall Morris

Published May 1, 1994• 2 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Recent studies of particle localization shows that square-integrable positive energy bispinor fields in a Minkowski space-time cannot be physically distinguished from constrained tensor fields. In this paper we generalize this result by characterizing all classical tensor systems, which admit Fermi quantization, as those having unitary Lie-Poisson brackets. Examples include Euler's tensor equation for a rigid body and Dirac's equation in tensor form.

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Canadian Journal of Physics•Jan 1, 1953•7 citations
Recent studies of particle localization shows that square-integrable positive energy bispinor fields in a Minkowski space-time cannot be physically distinguished from constrained tensor fields. In this paper we generalize this result by characterizing all classical tensor systems, which admit Fermi quantization, as those having unitary Lie-Poisson brackets. Examples include Euler's tensor equation for a rigid body and Dirac's equation in tensor form.
It is shown that Fermi-Dirac quantization by the procedure of Heisenberg and Pauli cannot be carried out for tensor wave equations. Since the general wave equations for particles with integral spin are tensor equations, it follows that for these integral spin equations Fermi-Dirac quantization cannot be carried out. During the course of the discussion it appears that for equations derived from Lagrangians which are nonlinear in the derivatives of the functions, Fermi-Dirac quantization cannot be carried out. Since the Heisenberg-Pauli theory applies only to nonlinear Lagrangians, a special discussion of linear Lagrangians (linear in the derivatives of the functions) is given. It is shown how equations derived from such Lagrangians can be put into Hamiltonian form. Lagrangians of this type occur for the equations for half-odd spin.
An examination is made of the consequences for the quantum mechanics of spinning particles of equations characteristic of Lorentz-covariant position variables. These equations are commutator analogs of the Poisson bracket equations that express the familiar transformation properties of space-time events in classical mechanics. For a particle of zero spin it is found that the usual canonical coordinate is the unique solution of these equations. For a particle with positive spin there is no position operator which satisfies these equations and has commuting components. For a particle and antiparticle there is a unique solution with commuting components which is valid for all values of the spin and reduces for zero spin to the canonical coordinate. For spin \textonehalf{} this is the Foldy-Wouthuysen transform of the position operator of the Dirac equation. A generalization of the inverse Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation, valid for any value of the spin, appears as a unique unitary transformation which takes this generalized Dirac position to the canonical coordinate. The application of this transformation to the canonical form of the Hamiltonian gives a generalization of the Dirac equation Hamiltonian. This is developed and compared with the literature for spin 1. It gives a nonlocal equation as the spin 1 analog of the Dirac equation.
The quantization process was always tightly connected to the Hamiltonian formulation of classical mechanics. For non-Hamiltonian systems, traditional quantization algorithms turn out to be unsuitable. Numerous attempts to quantize non-Hamiltonian systems have shown that this problem is nontrivial and requires the development of new approaches. In this paper, we present the quantization methods that do not depend upon the Hamiltonian formulation of classical mechanics. Two approaches to the quantization of mechanical systems are considered: axiomatic and hydrodynamic. It is shown that the formal application of these approaches to the classical Hamilton-Jacobi theory allows obtaining the wave equation for the corresponding quantum system in natural way. Examples are considered that show the effectiveness of the proposed approaches, both for Hamiltonian and non-Hamiltonian systems. The spinor form of the relativistic Hamilton-Jacobi theory for classical particles is considered. It is shown that it naturally leads to the Dirac equation for the corresponding quantum particle and to its non-Hamiltonian generalization, the bispinor relativistic Kostin equation.
A theoretical framework for quantization, defined by the normalized positive-definite probability operator establishing dynamical correspondence between classical and quantum Poisson brackets, is presented. The resulting quantum theory, unlike the conventional one, admits consistent probabilistic interpretation. It is shown that, in the nonrelativistic case, quantization based on the probability operator leads to the theory known as ‘‘quantum mechanics with a non-negative quantum distribution function.’’ A generalization of the proposed framework to the case of the relativistic theory of fields is attempted. Four auxiliary problems of constructing probability operators of one-dimensional field oscillators in Bose and Fermi algebras are formulated and solved. On the basis of these solutions it is concluded that spinor fields are not quantizable in the Bose algebra with the help of the probability operator (the analog of Pauli’s theorem). An equation for the probability operator of a system of free fields is derived from the principles of dynamical correspondence and translational invariance. The physical meaning of the operators corresponding to classical field amplitudes, such as annihilation and creation operators of field quanta with definite energy-momentum, is shown to emerge as a consequence of this equation. It is shown that the quantization of a system consisting only of tensor fields or only of spinor fields in the formalism of the probability operator leads to difficulties. It is shown further that these difficulties can be removed by considering quantization of a system containing both tensor and spinor fields. As an illustration, quantization of a system consisting of a massive vector field and a massive spinor field is considered and it is found that a noncontradictory quantization requires the mass of the vector particle to be less than that of the spinor particle. The probability operator thus acts as a mechanism of selection of the fields to be quantized already at the level of free fields.
A carefully motivated symmetric variant of the Poisson bracket in ordinary (not Grassmann) phase space variables is shown to satisfy identities which are in algebraic correspondence with the anticommutation postulates for quantized Fermion systems. "Symplecticity" in terms of this symmetric Poisson bracket implies generalized Hamilton's equations that can only be of Schroedinger type (e.g., the Dirac equation but not the Klein-Gordon or Maxwell equations). This restriction also excludes the old "four-Fermion" theory of beta decay.
The antisymmetric spin tensor of rank two used to describe the rotational motion of a particle is assumed to satisfy the constraint condition that the velocity 4-vector is orthogonal to it. Since the dipole moment is proportional to the spin tensor, this condition leads always to a purely magnetic dipole in the rest system of the particle. Frenkel has indicated how the action principle for the classical equations of motion can be set up treating the above constraint condition as a supplementary condition. The Hamiltonian dynamics of a system having supplementary conditions and Lagrange undetermined multipliers has been discussed recently by Dirac. Dirac's method and results previously obtained give the required Hamilton–Jacobi equations and Poisson Brackets of the dynamical variables. The cases where the particle behaves like a pure gyroscope and a symmetrical top are treated. When there is an interacting field, it is assumed that the action of the Held is given by the effective 4-vector potential without further specification. The orthogonality of the velocity to the tensor dual to the spin tensor can be imposed as an alternative constraint condition. This possibility is discussed briefly. The quantum formulation is completed with the help of the standard analogy rules.