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Physics Education

‘Leading clocks lag’ and the de Broglie wavelength

Robert L. Shuler

Published Feb 3, 2016• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract The forgotten history of de Broglie waves as themselves artifacts of a Lorentz transform, not physical lengths and frequencies to be transformed, causes confusion for students and others. In this paper the de Broglie wavelength is derived and dependence of de Broglie frequency on velocity explained in terms of Einstein synchronized reference frame measurements of a single clock ( 2-on-1 ) versus measurements of an Einstein reference frame by an observer with a single clock ( 1-on-2 ). A new memory aid for the relativity of simultaneity, ‘leading clocks lag,’ is introduced that puts it on a par with the heuristics ‘time dilation’ and ‘length contraction’ for quick and easy problem visualization.

DOI
10.1088/0031-9120/51/2/025005

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arXiv:1401.4534•Foundations of Physics•Dec 31, 2013•9 citations
Abstract The forgotten history of de Broglie waves as themselves artifacts of a Lorentz transform, not physical lengths and frequencies to be transformed, causes confusion for students and others. In this paper the de Broglie wavelength is derived and dependence of de Broglie frequency on velocity explained in terms of Einstein synchronized reference frame measurements of a single clock ( 2-on-1 ) versus measurements of an Einstein reference frame by an observer with a single clock ( 1-on-2 ). A new memory aid for the relativity of simultaneity, ‘leading clocks lag,’ is introduced that puts it on a par with the heuristics ‘time dilation’ and ‘length contraction’ for quick and easy problem visualization.
This paper addresses gaps identified in pedagogical studies of how misunderstanding of De Broglie waves affects later coursework and presents a heuristic for understanding the De Broglie frequency of composite. De Broglie’s little known derivation is reviewed with a new illustration based on his description. Simple techniques for reference frame independent analysis of a moving double slit electron interference experiment are not previously found in any literature and cement the concepts. Points of similarity and difference between De Broglie and Schrödinger waves are explained. The necessity of momentum, energy, and wavelength changes in the electrons in order for them to be vertically displaced in their own reference frame is shown to be required to make the double slit analysis work. A relativistic kinematic analysis of De Broglie frequency is provided showing how the higher De Broglie frequency of moving particles is consistent with Special Relativity and time dilation and that it demonstrates a natural system which obeys Einstein’s clock synchronization convention of simultaneity and no other. Students will be better prepared to identify practical approaches to solving problems and to think about fundamental questions.
The de~Broglie relation λ=h/p\lambda = h/pλ=h/p is among the most well-confirmed results in modern physics, yet the kinematic origin of the associated matter wave remains conceptually obscure. This paper presents a kinematic analysis leading to the de~Broglie relation. The only assumption is the existence of a globally defined phase field with uniform rest-frame oscillation, a structure known to occur in superfluids and Bose--Einstein condensates. Under a Lorentz boost, the scalar transformation of the phase field converts temporal periodicity directly into spatial periodicity, yielding a wave number k′=γω0v/cs2k' = \gamma\omega_0 v/c_s^2k′=γω0​v/cs2​ and a phase velocity vphase=cs2/vv_{\mathrm{phase}} = c_s^2/vvphase​=cs2​/v. No wave equation, dynamical model, or quantization procedure is required. The result follows solely from the relativity of simultaneity applied to a scalar phase field. When the characteristic frequency and invariant speed are identified as ω0=mc2/ℏ\omega_0 = mc^2/\hbarω0​=mc2/ℏ and cs=cc_s = ccs​=c, the resulting wavelength and phase velocity reproduce the standard de~Broglie relations. The logical architecture inverts that of de~Broglie's original construction: rather than postulating a separate clock and wave linked by phase harmony, the wave emerges as the Lorentz-transformed image of a single coherent phase clock. The phase harmony that de~Broglie introduced as an independent postulate becomes a consequence of Lorentz covariance. The analysis establishes a precise kinematic correspondence without asserting that the physical vacuum is a coherent medium. Whether this correspondence reflects a deeper physical principle or a mathematical analogy remains an open question.
De Broglie waves are a simple consequence of special relativity applied to the complex-phase oscillations of stationary states. As de Broglie showed in his doctoral thesis, the synchronized oscillations of an extended system at rest, even a classical one, become de Broglie-like waves when boosted to finite velocity. The waves illustrate the well-known but seldom demonstrated relativistic effect of clock desynchroniation (or dephasing) in moving frames. Although common manifestations of stationary-state oscillations in interference experiments are sensitive only to energy differences, de Broglie wavelengths are inversely proportional to rest-frame oscillation frequency, and their observed values require that the oscillation frequencies are proportional to the the total absolute energy, including the rest component mc2. PACS Nos.: 03.65.Ta, 03.30.+p, 01.65.+g
The Lorentz transformation (the LT) is explained by changes occurring in the wave characteristics of matter as it changes inertial frame. This explanation is akin to that favoured by Lorentz, but informed by later insights, due primarily to de Broglie, regarding the underlying unity of matter and radiation. To show the nature of these changes, a massive particle is modelled as a standing wave in three dimensions. As the particle moves, the standing wave becomes a travelling wave having two factors. One is a carrier wave displaying the dilated frequency and contracted ellipsoidal form described by the LT, while the other (identified as the de Broglie wave) is a modulation defining the dephasing of the carrier wave (and thus the failure of simultaneity) in the direction of travel. The superluminality of the de Broglie wave is thus explained, as are several other mysterious features of the optical behaviour of matter, including the physical meaning of the Schrödinger Eqn. and the relevance to scattering processes of the de Broglie wave number. Consideration is given to what this Lorentzian approach to relativity might mean for the possible existence of a preferred frame and the origin of the observed Minkowski metric.
The Lorentz transformation (LT) is explained by changes occurring in the wave characteristics of matter as it changes inertial frame. This explanation is akin to that favoured by Lorentz, but informed by later insights, due primarily to de Broglie, regarding the underlying unity of matter and radiation. To show the nature of these changes, a massive particle is modelled as a standing wave in three dimensions. As the particle moves, the standing wave becomes a travelling wave having two factors. One is a carrier wave displaying the dilated frequency and contracted ellipsoidal form described by the LT, while the other (identified as the de Broglie wave) is a modulation defining the dephasing of the carrier wave (and thus the failure of simultaneity) in the direction of travel. The superluminality of the de Broglie wave is thus explained, as are several other mysterious features of the optical behaviour of matter, including the physical meaning of the Schrödinger equation and the relevance to scattering processes of the de Broglie wave vector. Consideration is given to what this Lorentzian approach to relativity might mean for the possible existence of a preferred frame and the origin of the observed Minkowski metric.