Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Old and New Questions in Physics, Cosmology, Philosophy, and Theoretical Biology pp 53–58Cite as

The Zitterbewegung and the Einstein A Coefficient of Spontaneous Emission

  • Chapter

Abstract

The process of emission and absorption of a photon by the electron is the ultimate basic elementary process of quantum electrodynamics (QED). The QED does not further analyze the details and any possible spatial and temporal structure of this process. Questions concerning the duration of the emission process, the direction of the emission, in fact, the shape of the photon itself, can only be posed and answered in a probabilistic sense and according to the rules of the quantum theory of measurement.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References and Notes

  1. A. Einstein, Ann. Phys. (Leipzig) ,4th Ser. 17, 132–148 (1905).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. See, e.g., H. Paul, Wiss. Fortschr. 29, 62 (1979).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. M. Lax and M. Zwanziger, Phys. Rev. A 7, 750–771 (1973).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. P. A. M. Dirac, Quantum Mechanics ,4th Ed. (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1958).

    Google Scholar 

  5. A. O. Barut, Z. Naturforsch. 33a, 993–994 (1978).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. A. O. Barut, Czech, J. Phys. B29, 3–5 (1979).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. E. Schrödinger, “Über die kraftefreie Bewegung in der relativistischen Quantenmechanik,” Sitzungs ber. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. XXIV, 418–428 (1930).

    Google Scholar 

  8. A. O. Barut and A. J. Bracken, Phys. Rev. D 23, 2454 (1981) and D 24, 3333 (1981).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. W. Heitler, The Quantum Theory of Radiation ,3rd. ed. (Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, 1954), pp. 25, 179.

    Google Scholar 

  10. A. O. Barut, in Quantum Theory and the Structures of Time and Space ,Vol. III, L. Castell and C. F. von Weizsäcker, editors (C. Hanser Verlag, Munich, 1979), pp. 175–182.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Univeisity of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA

    A. O. Barut

Authors
  1. A. O. Barut
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA

    Alwyn van der Merwe

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1983 Plenum Press, New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Barut, A.O. (1983). The Zitterbewegung and the Einstein A Coefficient of Spontaneous Emission. In: van der Merwe, A. (eds) Old and New Questions in Physics, Cosmology, Philosophy, and Theoretical Biology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-8830-2_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-8830-2_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-8832-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-8830-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation