In previous work, we have shown how the description of spin may be generalized and we have worked out this generalization for the cases spin 1/2 and spin 1. In this paper, we deal with the case of spin 2 and give the generalized probability amplitudes.
In a recent paper, we introduced a new way of treating systems of compounded angular momentum. We obtained the probability amplitudes for measurements on the systems and used these to derive the matrix treatment of compounded spin. However, the matrix forms are in 3- and 4- dimensional space and are therefore entirely different from the standard forms. This raises the question of the connection between these forms and the standard forms. In this paper, we answer this question. We not only derive the standard matrix treatment of spin addition - we discover a more generalized form of the theory. We apply the new generalized theory to the singlet and triplet states arising from the addition of the spins of two systems of spin 1/2 each. We obtain new generalized forms of the vectors and operators for these cases, and show that they reduce to the standard forms in the appropriate limit.
The concept of phase-space amplitudes for systems with continuous degrees of freedom is generalized to finite-dimensional spin systems. Complex amplitudes are obtained on both a sphere and a finite lattice, in each case enabling a more fundamental description of pure spin states than that previously given by Wigner functions. In each case the Wigner function can be expressed as the star product of the amplitude and its conjugate, so providing a generalized Born interpretation of amplitudes that emphasizes their more fundamental status. The ordinary product of the amplitude and its conjugate produces a (generalized) spin Husimi function. The case of spin-21 is treated in detail, and it is shown that phase-space amplitudes on the sphere transform correctly as spinors under rotations, despite their expression in terms of spherical harmonics. Spin amplitudes on a lattice are also found to transform as spinors. Applications are given to the phase space description of state superposition, and to the evolution in phase space of the state of a spin-21 magnetic dipole in a time-dependent magnetic field.
The approach to quantum mechanics which we have used to derive the matrix treatment of spin from first principles is now employed to treat systems of compounded angular momentum. A general treatment is first given, which is then applied to the concrete cases of a spin-0 and a spin-1 system obtained by adding the spins of two spin-1/2 systems. Thus the probability amplitudes for measurements on the systems are derived, as well as the matrix vectors and operators corresponding to the systems. The matrix operators and states obtained are different from the standard forms and are much more generalized. The new results are applied to the case of joint measurements on the subsystems of such a system; this is a problem that has been made very topical by the high level of interest in the foundations of quantum mechanics. As a consequence of the insights arising from this treatment, we show that the Clebsch-Gordan coefficients are amenable to generalization, and we give the generalized forms for these cases.
The interpretation of quantum mechanics due to Lande' is applied to the connection between wave mechanics and matrix mechanics. The connection between the differential eigenvalue equation and the matrix eigenvalue equation for an operator is elucidated. In particular, we show that the elements of a matrix vector state are probability amplitudes with a structure rather than being mere constants. We obtain the most general expressions for the probability amplitudes for the description of spin-1/2 measurements. As a result, we derive spin-1/2 operators and vectors from first principles. The procedure used is analogous to that by which orbital angular momentum wavefunctions and operators are transformed to matrix mechanics vectors and matrices. The most generalized forms of the spin operators and their eigenvectors for spin-1/2 are derived and shown to reduce to the Pauli spin matrices and vectors in an appropriate limit.