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arXiv:quant-ph/0305175 · Annalen der Physik

Uniqueness of conserved currents in quantum mechanics

Peter Holland

Published Oct 14, 2003• 29 citations
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Abstract

It is proved by a functional method that the conventional expression for the Dirac current is the only conserved 4-vector implied by the Dirac equation that is a function of just the quantum state. The demonstration is extended to derive the unique conserved currents implied by the coupled Maxwell-Dirac equations and the Klein-Gordon equation. The uniqueness of the usual Pauli and Schrödinger currents follows by regarding these as the non-relativistic limits of the Dirac and Klein-Gordon currents, respectively. The existence and properties of further conserved vectors that are not functions of just the state is examined.

DOI
10.1002/andp.200310022

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It is proved by a functional method that the conventional expression for the Dirac current is the only conserved 4-vector implied by the Dirac equation that is a function of just the quantum state. The demonstration is extended to derive the unique conserved currents implied by the coupled Maxwell-Dirac equations and the Klein-Gordon equation. The uniqueness of the usual Pauli and Schrödinger currents follows by regarding these as the non-relativistic limits of the Dirac and Klein-Gordon currents, respectively. The existence and properties of further conserved vectors that are not functions of just the state is examined.
Abstract It is proved by a functional method that the conventional expression for the Dirac current is the only conserved 4‐vector implied by the Dirac equation that is a function of just the quantum state. The demonstration is extended to derive the unique conserved currents implied by the coupled Maxwell‐Dirac equations and the Klein‐Gordon equation. The uniqueness of the usual Pauli and Schrödinger currents follows by regarding these as the non‐relativistic limits of the Dirac and Klein‐Gordon currents, respectively. The existence and properties of further conserved vectors that are not functions of just the state is examined.
Abstract The Klein–Gordon and the Dirac equations are studied as candidates for a relativistic generalisation of the Schrödinger equation. We show that the first is unacceptable because it admits solutions with arbitrarily large negative energy and has no conserved current with positive definite probability density. The Dirac equation on the other hand does have a physically acceptable conserved current, but it too suffers from the presence of negative energy solutions. We show that the latter can be interpreted as describing anti-particles. In either case there is no fully consistent interpretation as a single-particle wave equation and we are led to a formalism admitting an infinite number of degrees of freedom, that is a quantum field theory. We can still use the Dirac equation at low energies when the effects of anti-particles are negligible and we study applications in atomic physics.
In relativistic quantum field theory with local interactions, charge is locally conserved. This implies local conservation of probability for the Dirac and Klein–Gordon wavefunctions, as special cases; and in turn for non-relativistic quantum field theory and for the Schrödinger and Ginzburg–Landau equations, regarded as low energy limits. Quantum mechanics, however, is wider than quantum field theory, as an effective model of reality. For instance, fractional quantum mechanics and Schrödinger equations with non-local terms have been successfully employed in several applications. The non-locality of these formalisms is strictly related to the problem of time in quantum mechanics. We explicitly compute, for continuum wave packets, the terms of the fractional Schrödinger equation and the non-local Schrödinger equation by Lenzi et al. that break local current conservation. Additionally, we discuss the physical significance of these terms. The results are especially relevant for the electromagnetic coupling of these wavefunctions. A connection with the non-local Gorkov equation for superconductors and their proximity effect is also outlined.
In relativistic quantum field theory with local interactions, charge is locally conserved. This implies local conservation of probability for the Dirac and Klein–Gordon wavefunctions, as special cases; and in turn for non-relativistic quantum field theory and for the Schrödinger and Ginzburg–Landau equations, regarded as low energy limits. Quantum mechanics, however, is wider than quantum field theory, as an effective model of reality. For instance, fractional quantum mechanics and Schrödinger equations with non-local terms have been successfully employed in several applications. The non-locality of these formalisms is strictly related to the problem of time in quantum mechanics. We explicitly compute, for continuum wave packets, the terms of the fractional Schrödinger equation and the non-local Schrödinger equation by Lenzi et al. that break local current conservation. Additionally, we discuss the physical significance of these terms. The results are especially relevant for the electromagnetic coupling of these wavefunctions. A connection with the non-local Gorkov equation for superconductors and their proximity effect is also outlined.
Abstract This chapter is seeking relativistic wave equations, which are invariant under Lorentz transformations, in an attempt to obtain a quantum mechanical description of relativistic particles. First, the chapter starts with the Klein–Gordon equation and then it discusses the Dirac equation. It also takes the non-relativistic limit of the Dirac equation to derive the Schrödinger equation with two additional terms, the Zeeman term and the spin–orbit coupling term. These two terms emerge naturally from the Dirac equation, and thus the spin, as an internal quantum number which behaves like angular momentum, is clearly identified. Finally, the existence of antimatter is clearly supported by the nature of the solutions to the Dirac equation.
Expressions of a conserved 4-current and its density are examined in cases of electrically charged quantum particles. It is proven that the Noether theorem cannot be regarded as a sufficient condition that yields a consistent expression of a conserved 4-current, because electromagnetic interactions pose further constraints. A mathematical analysis shows that the Dirac linear equation yields a consistent expression for a 4-current. In contrast, second order quantum equations, such as the Klein-Gordon equation of an electrically charged scalar particle and the electroweak equation of the W± vector particles do not provide a consistent expression for a conserved 4-current that adequately describes electromagnetic interactions.