Rotational Invariance and the Spin-Statistics Theorem

G. C. Ghirardi, A. Rimini, T. Weber

E. C. G. Sudarshan

Quantum Field Theory formulated in terms of hermitian fields automatically leads to a spin-statistics connection when invariance under rotations is required. In three (or more) dimensions of space this implies Bose statistics for integer spin fields and Fermi statistics for half-integer spin fields. One should recall that spin-1/2 fields in three dimensions have two nonhermitian or four hermitian components. This automatic doubling of the number of components enables one to define a pseudoscalar matrix, and this in turn allows one to prove the TCP theorem for rotationally invariant field theories. In two space dimensions one obtains anyon statistics independent of the “spin”. For the quantum mechanics of identical particles we obtain only the possibility of either statistics for either spin as long as the spatial dimension is three (or higher). For two space dimensions we get anyon statistics. This difference is due to the contractibility of closed loops in three or more dimensions. The relation to the arguments of Broyles, of Bacry, and of Berry and Robbins is discussed.

F. De Martini, Enrico Santamato

The traditional standard theory of quantum mechanics is unable to solve the spin-statistics problem, i.e. to justify the utterly important “Pauli Exclusion Principle” but by the adoption of the complex standard relativistic quantum field theory. In a recent paper [E. Santamato and F. D. De Martini, Found. Phys. 45 (2015) 858] we presented a complete proof of the spin-statistics problem in the nonrelativistic approximation on the basis of the “Conformal Quantum Geometrodynamics” (CQG). In this paper, by the same theory, the proof of the spin-statistics theorem (SST) is extended to the relativistic domain in the scenario of curved spacetime. No relativistic quantum field operators are used in the present proof and the particle exchange properties are drawn from rotational invariance rather than from Lorentz invariance. Our relativistic approach allows to formulate a manifestly step-by-step Weyl gauge invariant theory and to emphasize some fundamental aspects of group theory in the demonstration. As in the nonrelativistic case, we find once more that the “intrinsic helicity” of the elementary particles enters naturally into play. It is therefore this property, not considered in the standard quantum mechanics (SQM), which determines the correct spin-statistics connection observed in Nature.

Evgenii Dmitrievich Trifonov

Arthur A. Broyles

Lin-Mei Liang, Cheng-Zu Li

We present rotationally invariant proof of Bell's theorem without inequalities for spin-(2 N +1)/2 system ( N = 2 k −1, k = 1,2,3,4…) with only two particles, which is a generalization of Cabello's study [Phys. Rev. A 67 (2003) 032107].