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Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A Mathematical and Physical Sciences

Inconsistency in an external field of Dirac’s positive-energy wave equation with generalized internal variables

Anthony J. Bracken

Published Oct 8, 1982• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Sudarshan, Mukunda & Chiang (1982) (see also Mukunda, Chiang & Sudarshan 1982) have generalized Dirac's (1971) positive-energy relativistic wave equation by the adoption of internal variables satisfying trilinear relations rather than bilinear commutation relations. They have obtained an equation that also describes a spinless particle and admits only positive-energy solutions, and have argued that, unlike the equation proposed by Dirac, their equation remains consistent with minimal coupling to an external electromagnetic field. However, a relation between this equation and the equation for an electron is established here, and exploited to provide a proof of inconsistency for a constant and uniform external magnetic field. Analogous results are obtained in 2 + 1 -dimensional and 1 + 1-dimensional space–time, again contrary to the conclusions of Sudarshan et al.

DOI
10.1098/rspa.1982.0140

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Abstract Sudarshan, Mukunda & Chiang (1982) (see also Mukunda, Chiang & Sudarshan 1982) have generalized Dirac's (1971) positive-energy relativistic wave equation by the adoption of internal variables satisfying trilinear relations rather than bilinear commutation relations. They have obtained an equation that also describes a spinless particle and admits only positive-energy solutions, and have argued that, unlike the equation proposed by Dirac, their equation remains consistent with minimal coupling to an external electromagnetic field. However, a relation between this equation and the equation for an electron is established here, and exploited to provide a proof of inconsistency for a constant and uniform external magnetic field. Analogous results are obtained in 2 + 1 -dimensional and 1 + 1-dimensional space–time, again contrary to the conclusions of Sudarshan et al.
In this chapter, we investigate the Dirac equation, which is named after P. A. M. Dirac, who is one of the fathers of quantum field theory. The Dirac equation is a relativistic quantum mechanical wave equation for spin-1/2 particles (e.g. electrons), which was derived by Dirac in 1928. The difficulties in finding a consistent single-particle theory from the Klein–Gordon equation led Dirac to search for an equation that had a positive-definite conserved probability density and was first order both in time and space. One can show that these two conditions imply that a matrix equation is required. The reason why the Klein–Gordon equation did not yield a positive-definite probability density is connected with the second-order time derivative in this equation, which arises because the Klein–Gordon equation is related to the relativistic energy–momentum relation E 2 = m 2 + p 2 via the correspondence principle that includes a term E 2 . Thus, a ‘better’ Lorentz covariant wave equation with a positive-definite probability density should have a first-order time derivative only. However, the equivalence of time and space coordinates in Minkowski space requires that such an equation also have only first-order space derivatives.
For a free Dirac electron, the Heisenberg equations define an internal dynamical system in the rest frame, isomorphic to a finite three-dimensional oscillator with a compact SO(5) phase space, such that the spin of the electron is the orbital angular momentum of the internal dynamics (Barut and Bracken 1980, 1981a). In the present work, the change in this internal dynamics due to an external magnetic field is studied. In order that the internal motion can be distinguished from the centre of mass motion, the solutions of the corresponding Hamilton and Heisenberg equations for the relativistic classical motion and the relativistic quantum mechanical spinless motion are also presented. The solutions for the electron exhibit the effect of the spin terms both in the internal motion and external motion, and we are able to identify the properties of the Zitterbewegung in the external field.
Abstract A novel interpretation is given of Dirac’s ‘wave equation for the relativistic electron’ as a quantum-mechanical one-particle equation. In this interpretation the electron and the positron are merely the two different ‘topological spin’ states of a single more fundamental particle, not distinct particles in their own right. The new interpretation is backed up by the existence of such ‘bi-particle’ structures in general relativity, in particular the ring singularity present in any spacelike section of the spacetime singularity of the maximal-analytically extended, topologically non-trivial, electromagnetic Kerr–Newman (KN)spacetime in the zero-gravity limit (here, ‘zero-gravity’ means the limit , where G is Newton’s constant of universal gravitation). This novel interpretation resolves the dilemma that Dirac’s wave equation seems to be capable of describing both the electron and the positron in ‘external’ fields in many relevant situations, while the bi-spinorial wave function has only a single position variable in its argument, not two—as it should if it were a quantum-mechanical two-particle wave equation. A Dirac equation is formulated for such a ring-like bi-particle which interacts with a static point charge located elsewhere in the topologically non-trivial physical space associated with the moving ring particle, the motion being governed by a de Broglie–Bohm type law extracted from the Dirac equation. As an application, the pertinent general-relativistic zero-gravity hydrogen problem is studied in the usual Born–Oppenheimer approximation. Its spectral results suggest that the zero- G KN magnetic moment be identified with the so-called ‘anomalous magnetic moment of the physical electron,’ not with the Bohr magneton, so that the ring radius is only a tiny fraction of the electron’s reduced Compton wavelength.
A novel interpretation is given of Dirac's "wave equation for the relativistic electron" as a quantum-mechanical one-particle equation. In this interpretation the electron and the positron are merely the two different "topological spin" states of a single more fundamental particle, not distinct particles in their own right. The new interpretation is backed up by the existence of such bi-particle structures in general relativity, in particular the ring singularity present in any spacelike section of the maximal analytically extended, topologically non-trivial, electromagnetic Kerr-Newman spacetime in the zero-gravity limit (here, "zero-gravity" means the limit G→0G\to 0G→0, where GGG is Newton's constant of universal gravitation). This novel interpretation resolves the dilemma that Dirac's wave equation seems to be capable of describing both the electron and the positron in "external" fields in many relevant situations, while the bi-spinorial wave function has only a single position variable in its argument, not two - as it should if it were a two-particle equation! A Dirac equation is formulated for a ring-like bi-particle which interacts with a static point charges located elsewhere in the topologically non-trivial physical space associated with the moving ring bi-particle, the motion being governed by a de-Broglie-Bohm type law extracted from the Dirac equation. As an application, the pertinent general-relativistic zero-gravity Hydrogen problem is studied in the usual Born-Oppenheimer approximation. Its spectral results suggest that the zero-GGG Kerr-Newman magnetic moment be identified with the so-called "anomalous magnetic moment of the physical electron," not with the Bohr magneton, so that the ring radius is only a tiny fraction of the electron's Compton wave length.
Dirac's equation with static external fields is considered as an equation of relativistic quantum theory, which describes the quantum dynamics of an electron in four-dimensional space-time. It is shown that the Dirac electron has only one intrinsic degree of freedom -- spin. The quantum ensemble of an electron with a given energy consists of two inseparable from each other subensembles of heavy and light spin-1/2 quasiparticles to have opposite (relative) intrinsic parities. In the case of electrical scalar potential nonuniform in the direction of a particle motion, these subensembles behave as analogs of the electrical and magnetic components of the plane monochromatic electromagnetic wave propagating in a dispersive medium, nonuniform in the direction of a wave motion. The role of states with negative energies and the properties of the velocity operator are explained.