Abstract
To describe a world which is stable against electromagnetic decay the negative energy solutions of the Dirac equation have to be reinterpreted. In Dirac’s hole picture all states in the lower continuum are assumed to be occupied originally. Empty levels are identified with positrons having positive charge and positive energy. We discuss the physical successes and shortcomings of this model. The ensuing new kind of symmetry mediating between particles and antiparticles, charge conjugation symmetry, is studied for both free and bound states. In addition the action of parity and time reversal transformations is treated.
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References
A. Messiah: Quantum Mechanics ( North-Holland, Amsterdam 1966 )
W. Greiner: Vorlesungen über Theoretische Physik V: Quantenmechanik II — Symmetrien ( Harri Deutsch, Frankfurt 1979 )
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© 1985 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Greiner, W., Müller, B., Rafelski, J. (1985). The Hole Theory. In: Quantum Electrodynamics of Strong Fields. Texts and Monographs in Physics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-82272-8_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-82272-8_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-82274-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-82272-8
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