We have seen in earlier chapters that non-relativistic quantum mechanics does provide a consistent scheme to explain numerous phenomena in atomic, molecular and nuclear physics, but it does not conform to the equivalence of space and time as envisaged in the theory of relativity.
Up to this point, our study of quantum mechanics has concerned itself with the behaviour of particles that inhabit a Galilean spacetime. For many purposes, in atomic, molecular and condensed matter physics, this theory is quite adequate. We saw in earlier chapters, however, that our actual spacetime has a structure which is much closer to that of the Minkowski spacetime of special relativity and that more general structures must be considered when gravitational phenomena are signicant. From a purely theoretical point of view, it is therefore important to formulate quantum theory in a way which is consistent with these more general spacetimes. The benets of constructing a relativistic quantum theory actually go far beyond the aesthetic satisfaction of making our geometrical and quantum-mechanical reasoning compatible. For one thing, we shall discover that the relativistic theory provides a deeper understanding of spin and the distinction between fermions and bosons, which in the non-relativistic theory appear simply as facts of life that we must strive to accommodate. Also, of course, there are many situations in which relativistic eects become observable, for which non-relativistic theory provides no explanation. The most obvious are high-energy scattering experiments, in which particles acquire kinetic energies comparable with or greater than their rest energies mc2, and the correct 4-momentum (3.33) must be used. There are, however, more subtle eects, such as the spin-orbit coupling that is essential for interpreting atomic spectra, which are also of relativistic origin.
Up to this point, our study of quantum mechanics has concerned itself with the behaviour of particles that inhabit a Galilean spacetime. For many purposes, in atomic, molecular and condensed matter physics, this theory is quite adequate. We saw in earlier chapters, however, that our actual spacetime has a structure which is much closer to that of the Minkowski spacetime of special relativity and that more general structures must be considered when gravitational phenomena are significant. From a purely theoretical point of view, it is therefore important to formulate quantum theory in a way which is consistent with these more general spacetimes. The benefits of constructing a relativistic quantum theory actually go far beyond the aesthetic satisfaction of making our geometrical and quantummechanical reasoning compatible. For one thing, we shall discover that the relativistic theory provides a deeper understanding of spin and the distinction between fermions and bosons, which in the non-relativistic theory appear simply as facts of life that we must strive to accommodate. Also, of course, there are many situations in which relativistic effects become observable, for which nonrelativistic theory provides no explanation. The most obvious are high-energy scattering experiments, in which particles acquire kinetic energies comparable with or greater than their rest energies mc2, and the correct 4-momentum (3.34) must be used. There are, however, more subtle effects, such as the spin-orbit coupling that is essential for interpreting atomic spectra, which are also of relativistic origin.
The rudiments of the non-relativistic quantum theory are here worked out, in preparation for its thorough application to atomic and molecular physics developed in the next chapters. While the formal architecture will rely on a number of statements, definitions, and mathematical properties introduced either for self-consistency and for further convenience, its physical foundation is found for comparison to the phenomenological and conceptual achievements discussed in the previous chapter. All properties here reported—although representing just a summary of quantum mechanics—are discussed together with their formal proof, so as to provide good training for getting familiar with the quantum formalism.