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The Wave Equation for Spin-1/2 Particles

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Quantum Electrodynamics of Strong Fields

Part of the book series: Texts and Monographs in Physics ((TMP))

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Abstract

Following Dirac’s original derivation the four-component relativistic wave equation describing spin-1/2 particles is introduced. The energy spectrum, which exhibits two continua for both negative and positive energies, as well as the corresponding free spinor solutions are discussed. Finally we study in detail the transformation properties of Dirac-spinors under the Lorentz transformations and the construction of bilinear covariants.

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References

  1. J. D. Bjorken, S. D. Drell: Relativistic Quantum Mechanics (McGraw-Hill, New York 1964)

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© 1985 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Greiner, W., Müller, B., Rafelski, J. (1985). The Wave Equation for Spin-1/2 Particles. In: Quantum Electrodynamics of Strong Fields. Texts and Monographs in Physics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-82272-8_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-82272-8_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-82274-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-82272-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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