Basic quantum mechanics for three Dirac equations in a curved spacetime
Mayeul Arminjon, Frank Reifler
备注：
35 pages (standard 12pt format). v3: Introduction reinforced, a few wording improvements in the body, former appendix removed and made into a paper, arXiv:1003.3521. v2: a few additional informations, e.g. regarding the similarity transformations that are allowable
We study the basic quantum mechanics for a fully general set of Dirac matrices in a curved spacetime by extending Pauli's method. We further extend this study to three versions of the Dirac equation: the standard (Dirac-Fock-Weyl or DFW) equation, and two alternative versions, both of which are based on the recently proposed linear tensor representations of the Dirac field (TRD). We begin with the current conservation: we show that the latter applies to any solution of the Dirac equation, iff the field of Dirac matrices $γ^μ$ satisfies a specific PDE. This equation is always satisfied for DFW with its restricted choice for the $γ^μ$ matrices. It similarly restricts the choice of the $γ^μ$ matrices for TRD. However, this restriction can be achieved. The frame dependence of a general Hamiltonian operator is studied. We show that in any given reference frame with minor restrictions on the spacetime metric, the axioms of quantum mechanics impose a unique form for the Hilbert space scalar product. Finally, the condition for the general Dirac Hamiltonian operator to be Hermitian is derived in a general curved spacetime. For DFW, the validity of this hermiticity condition depends on the choice of the $γ^μ$ matrices.
The Dirac wave function in a curved spacetime is usually defined as a quadruplet of scalar fields. It can alternatively be defined as a four-vector field. We describe these two representations in a common geometrical framework and we prove theorems that relate together the different representations and the different choices of connections. In particular, the standard Dirac equation in a curved spacetime, with any choice of the tetrad field, is equivalent to a particular realization of the Dirac equation for a vector wave function, in the same spacetime.
We study the notion of a Dirac operator in the framework of twist-deformed noncommutative geometry. We provide a number of well-motivated candidate constructions and propose a minimal set of axioms that a noncommutative Dirac operator should satisfy. These criteria turn out to be restrictive, but they do not fix a unique construction: two of our operators generally satisfy the axioms, and we provide an explicit example where they are inequivalent. For highly symmetric spacetimes with Drinfeld twists constructed from sufficiently many Killing vector fields, all of our operators coincide. For ge…
The Dirac equation in curved spacetimes is formulated using coordinate-free notation. A Lagrangean density which corresponds to the subject equation is presented. The subject equation is invariant under a local rotation of the coframe. The current is independent of the local orientation of the coframe and it is conserved. The subject equation has an equivalent formulation which uses the Christoffel gamma. The stress-energy tensor is calculated.
A Lagrangian theory giving rise to a version of the Dirac-Kahler equations on curved backgrounds is considered. The principal pieces are the general fields which have values in the algebra of the Dirac matrices and satisfy a Dirac-type equation. Their components are scalar, pseudo-scalar, vector, axial-vector fields and fields strength which satisfy an irreducible systems of first-order Dirac-Kahler equations having remarkable gauge and duality properties similar to those of the flat case. The vector and axial-vector fields are the physical potentials giving rise to the field strength while th…
We present a semiclassical analysis for Dirac fields on an arbitrary spacetime background and in the presence of a fixed electromagnetic field. Our approach is based on a Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin approximation, and the results are analyzed at leading and next-to-leading order in the small expansion parameter $\hbar$. Taking into account the spin-orbit coupling between the internal and external degrees of freedom of wave packets, we derive effective ray equations with spin-dependent terms. These equations describe the gravitational spin Hall effect of localized Dirac wave packets. We treat bot…
We write the Dirac equation in curved 4-dimensional Lorentzian spacetime using concepts from the analysis of partial differential equations as opposed to geometric concepts.
It has been shown that, for all dimensions and signatures, the most general first-order linear symmetry operators for the Dirac equation including interaction with Maxwell field in curved background are given in terms of Killing-Yano (KY) forms. As a general gauge invariant condition it is found that among all KY-forms of the underlying (pseudo) Riemannian manifold, only those which Clifford commute with the Maxwell field take part in the symmetry operator. It is also proved that associated with each KY-form taking part in the symmetry operator, one can define a quadratic function of velocitie…
The Dirac equation in a curved spacetime depends on a field of coefficients (essentially the Dirac matrices), for which a continuum of different choices are possible. We study the conditions under which a change of the coefficient fields leads to an equivalent Hamiltonian operator H, or to an equivalent energy operator E. We do that for the standard version of the gravitational Dirac equation, and for two alternative equations based on the tensor representation of the Dirac fields. The latter equations may be defined when the spacetime is four-dimensional, noncompact, and admits a spinor struc…
It is shown that the main geometrical objects involved in all the symmetries or supersymmetries of the Dirac operators in curved manifolds of arbitrary dimensions are the Killing vectors and the Killing-Yano tensors of any ranks. The general theory of external symmetry transformations associated to the usual isometries is presented, pointing out that these leave the standard Dirac equation invariant providing the correct spin parts of the group generators. Furthermore, one analyzes the new type of symmetries generated by the covariantly constant Killing-Yano tensors that realize certain square…
Quantum fields are well known to violate the weak energy condition of general relativity: the renormalised energy density at any given point is unbounded from below as a function of the quantum state. By contrast, for the scalar and electromagnetic fields it has been shown that weighted averages of the energy density along timelike curves satisfy `quantum weak energy inequalities' (QWEIs) which constitute lower bounds on these quantities. Previously, Dirac QWEIs have been obtained only for massless fields in two-dimensional spacetimes. In this paper we establish QWEIs for the Dirac and Majoran…
Higher order symmetries corresponding to Killing tensors are investigated. The intimate relation between Killing-Yano tensors and non-standard supersymmetries is pointed out. In the Dirac theory on curved spaces, Killing-Yano tensors generate Dirac type operators involved in interesting algebraic structures as dynamical algebras or even infinite dimensional algebras or superalgebras. The general results are applied to space-times which appear in modern studies. One presents the infinite dimensional superalgebra of Dirac type operators on the 4-dimensional Euclidean Taub-NUT space that can be s…
We show that a free Dirac quantum field on a globally hyperbolic spacetime has the following structural properties: (a) any two quasifree Hadamard states on the algebra of free Dirac fields are locally quasiequivalent; (b) the split-property holds in the representation of any quasifree Hadamard state; (c) if the underlying spacetime is static, then the nuclearity condition is satisfied, that is, the free energy associated with a finitely extended subsystem (``box'') has a linear dependence on the volume of the box and goes like $\propto T^{s+1}$ for large temperatures $T$, where $s+1$ is the n…
These are introductory notes on the study of the Dirac equation in curved spacetime and its relation to hidden symmetries of the dynamics. We present general results on the relation between special spacetime tensors and hidden symmetries, both for the full Dirac equation and for its semi-classical limit, the spinning particle. A concrete application of the general results is provided by the case of rotating higher dimensional black holes with cosmological constant, which we discuss. For these metrics the Dirac equation is separable and the relation between this and hidden symmetries is explain…
An overview is given of recent developments in the field of Dirac equations generalized to curved space-times. An illustrative discussion is provided. We conclude with a variation of Dirac's large-number hypothesis which relates a number of physical quantities on cosmological scales.
We show how to transform a Dirac equation in curved spacetime into a Dirac equation in flat spacetime. In particular, we show that any solution of the free massless Dirac equation in a 1+1 dimensional flat spacetime can be transformed via a local phase transformation into a solution of the corresponding Dirac equation in a curved background, where the spacetime metric is encoded into the phase. In this way, the existing quantum simulators of the Dirac equation can naturally incorporate curved spacetimes. As a first example we use our technique to obtain solutions of the Dirac equation in a par…
We find out classical particles, starting from Dirac quantum fields on a curved space-time, by an eikonal approximation and a localization hypothesis for amplitudes. We recover the results by Mathisson-Papapetrou, hence establishing a fundamental correspondence between the coupling of classical and quantum spinning particles with the gravitational field.
One may ask whether the relations between energy and frequency and between momentum and wave vector, introduced for matter waves by de Broglie, are rigorously valid in the presence of gravity. In this paper, we show this to be true for Dirac equations in a background of gravitational and electromagnetic fields. We first transform any Dirac equation into an equivalent canonical form, sometimes used in particular cases to solve Dirac equations in a curved spacetime. This canonical form is needed to apply the Whitham Lagrangian method. The latter method, unlike the WKB method, places no restricti…
We give an introduction to the techniques from microlocal analysis that have successfully been applied in the investigation of Hadamard states of free quantum field theories on curved spacetimes. The calculation of the wave front set of the two point function of the free Klein-Gordon field in a Hadamard state is reviewed, and the polarization set of a Hadamard two point function of the free Dirac field on a curved spacetime is calculated.
Using a generalized Madelung transformation, we derive the hydrodynamic representation of the Dirac equation in arbitrary curved space-times coupled to an electromagnetic field. We obtain Dirac-Euler equations for fermions involving a continuity equation and a first integral of the Bernoulli equation. Comparing between the Dirac and Klein-Gordon equations we obtain the balance equation for fermion particles. We also use the correspondence between fermions and bosons to derive the hydrodynamic representation of the Weyl equation which is a chiral form of the Dirac equation.
We present a recent work on the Dirac equation in a curved spacetime. In addition to the standard equation, two alternative versions are considered, derived from wave mechanics, and based on the tensor representation of the Dirac field. The latter considers the Dirac wave function as a spacetime vector and the set of the Dirac matrices as a third-order tensor. Having the probability current conserved for any solution of the Dirac equation gives an equation to be satisfied by the coefficient fields. A positive definite scalar product is defined and a hermiticity condition for the Dirac Hamilton…
It is shown that the calculation of Dirac operator for the spherical coordinate system with spherical Dirac matrices and using the spin connection formalism is in the contradiction with the definition of standard Dirac operator in the spherical Minkowski coordinate system. It is shown that such contradiction one can avoid by introducing a canonical conjugated covariant derivative for the spinor field. The Dirac equation solution on the Reissner - Nordström background is obtained. The solution describes a bound state of a charged particle.
The idea of wave mechanics leads naturally to assume the well-known relation $E=\hbar ω$ in the specific form $H=\hbar W$, where $H$ is the classical Hamiltonian of a particle and $W$ is the dispersion relation of the sought-for wave equation. We derive the expression of $H$ in a curved spacetime with an electromagnetic field. Then we derive the Dirac equation from factorizing the polynomial dispersion equation corresponding with $H$. Conversely, summarizing a recent work, we implement the geometrical optics approximation into a canonical form of the Dirac Lagrangian. Euler-Lagrange equations …
As opposed to Arminjon statements, in this work we again assert the absence of the non-uniqueness problem of the Dirac theory in a curved and flat spacetime and illustrate this with a number of examples. Dirac Hamiltonians in arbitrary, including time-dependent, gravitational fields uniquely determine physical characteristics of quantum-mechanical systems irrespective of the choice of the tetrad fields. Direct spin-rotation coupling that occurs with a certain choice of tetrads does not manifest itself in final physical characteristics of the systems and therefore does not represent a physicall…
We introduce an exact mapping between the Dirac equation in (1+1)-dimensional curved spacetime (DCS) and a multiphoton quantum Rabi model (QRM). A background of a (1+1)-dimensional black hole requires a QRM with one- and two-photon terms that can be implemented in a trapped ion for the quantum simulation of Dirac particles in curved spacetime. We illustrate our proposal with a numerical analysis of the free fall of a Dirac particle into a (1+1)-dimensional black hole, and find that the Zitterbewegung effect, measurable via the oscillatory trajectory of the Dirac particle, persists in the prese…
In a Minkowski spacetime, one may transform the Dirac wave function under the spin group, as one transforms coordinates under the Poincaré group. This is not an option in a curved spacetime. Therefore, in the equation proposed independently by Fock and Weyl, the four complex components of the Dirac wave function transform as scalars under a general coordinate transformation. Recent work has shown that a covariant complex four-vector representation is also possible. Using notions of vector bundle theory, we describe these two representations in a unified framework. We prove theorems that relate…
First, the present work is concerned with generalising constructions and results in quantum field theory on curved spacetimes from the well-known case of the Klein-Gordon field to Dirac fields. To this end, the enlarged algebra of observables of the Dirac field is constructed in the algebraic framework. This algebra contains normal-ordered Wick polynomials in particular, and an extended analysis of one of its elements, the stress-energy tensor, is performed. Based on detailed calculations of the Hadamard coefficients of the Dirac field, it is found that a construction of a stress-energy tensor…
The relativistic acceleration of an electron in a uniform gravitational field is calculated numerically using the generalization of the Dirac equation to curved spacetime. Equivalent results are also obtained analytically using an iterative approach that is not based on the WKB approximation, which has been used extensively in the past. The acceleration is found to be proportional to a factor of $(1-3v^2/c^2)$ using Schwarzschild coordinates, which is consistent with the classical geodesic of a particle. These techniques may be useful in resolving the differences between commonly-used approxim…
Interest on 2 + 1 dimensional electron systems has increased considerably after the realization of novel properties of graphene sheets, in which the behaviour of electrons is effectively described by relativistic equations. Having this fact in mind, the following problem is studied in this work: when a spin 1/2 particle is constrained to move on a curved surface, is it possible to describe this particle without giving reference to the dimensions external to the surface? As a special case of this, a relativistic spin 1/2 particle which is constrained to move on a 2 + 1 dimensional hypersurface …
Quantum Weak Energy Inequalities (QWEIs) are results which limit the extent to which the smeared renormalised energy density of a quantum field can be negative. On globally hyperbolic spacetimes the massive quantum Dirac field is known to obey a QWEI in terms of a reference state chosen arbitrarily from the class of Hadamard states; however, there exist spacetimes of interest on which state-dependent bounds cannot be evaluated. In this paper we prove the first QWEI for the massive quantum Dirac field on four dimensional globally hyperbolic spacetime in which the bound depends only on the local…
A fundamentally different approach to path integral quantum mechanics in curved space-time is presented, as compared to the standard approaches currently available in the literature. Within the context of scalar particle propagation in a locally curved background, such as described by Fermi or Riemann normal co-ordinates, this approach requires use of a constructed operator to rotate the initial, intermediate, and final position ket vectors onto their respective local tangent spaces, defined at each local time step along some arbitrary classical reference worldline. Local time translation is d…
In this paper we propose a definition of quasifree Hadamard states for spinor fields on a curved space-time by specifying the Polarisation Set of the two-point function. We prove that the thermal equilibrium state on an ultrastatic space-time is Hadamard. We then construct an adiabatic vacuum state on a general globally hyperbolic Lorentz manifold using a factorisation of the spinorial Klein-Gordon operator. This state is pure. In what constitutes the main part of the paper, we show that it is also Hadamard. As a side result, we obtain the propagation of singularities of the spinorial Klein-Go…
We investigate the spin-1/2 relativistic quantum dynamics in the curved space-time generated by a central massive charged object (black hole). This necessitates a study of the coupling of a Dirac particle to the Reissner-Nordstrom space-time geometry and the simultaneous covariant coupling to the central electrostatic field. The relativistic Dirac Hamiltonian for the Reissner-Nordstrom geometry is derived. A Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation reveals the presence of gravitational, and electro-gravitational spin-orbit coupling terms which generalize the Fokker precession terms found for the Dirac-…
We summarize a recent work on the subject title. The Dirac equation in a curved spacetime depends on a field of coefficients (essentially the Dirac matrices), for which a continuum of different choices are possible. We study the conditions under which a change of the coefficient fields leads to an equivalent Hamiltonian operator H, or to an equivalent energy operator E. In this paper, we focus on the standard version of the gravitational Dirac equation, but the non-uniqueness applies also to our alternative versions. We find that the changes which lead to an equivalent operator H, or respectiv…
The quantized Dirac field is known, by a result of Fewster and Verch, to satisfy a Quantum Weak Energy Inequality (QWEI) on its averaged energy density along time-like curves in arbitrary four-dimensional globally hyperbolic spacetimes. However, this result does not provide an explicit form for the bound. By adapting ideas from the earlier work, we give a simplified derivation of a QWEI for the Dirac field leading to an explicit bound. The bound simplifies further in the case of static curves in static spacetimes, and, in particular, coincides with a result of Fewster and Mistry in four-dimens…
A chiral alternative to the vierbein field in general relativity was considered by 't Hooft in an attempt to facilitate the construction of a quantum theory of gravity. These objects $ f^a{}_{μν}$ behave like the "cube root" of the metric tensor. We try to construct specific representations of these tensors in terms of Dirac $γ$ matrices in Euclidean and Minkowski space, and promote these to curved space through Newman-Penrose formalism. We conjecture that these are new objects with physical significance and are the analog of Killing-Yano tensors. As an application, we try to construct non-Abe…
In this work, Schrödinger and Dirac equations will be examined in geometries that confine the particles to hypersurfaces. For this purpose, two methods will be considered. The first method is the thin layer method which relies on explicit use of geometrical relations and the squeezing of a certain coordinate of space (or spacetime). The second is Dirac's quantization procedure involving the modification of canonical quantization making use of the geometrical constraints. For the Dirac equation, only the first method will be considered. Lastly, the results of the two methods will be compared an…
The supersymmetric extension of charged point particle's motion is applied to investigate symmetries of gravitational fields and electromagnetic fields. We mainly focus on the role of the Killing- Yano tensors of both usual and generalized types. Results obtained by systematic analysis strengthen the connection of the Killing- Yano tensor and superinvariants (functions commuting with the supercharge).
The Yukawa model in curved spacetime is considered. We consider a complex scalar field coupled to a $U(1)$ gauge field and also interacting with Dirac fields with a general Yukawa coupling. The local momentum space method is used to obtain the one-loop effective action and we adopt the gauge condition independent background field method introduced by Vilkovisky and DeWitt. The pole parts of the one-loop effective action that depend on the background scalar field, that we do not assume to be constant, are found and used to calculate the counterterms and to determine the relevant renormalization…
The basic principles of generalization of the group theoretical approach to the relativistic wave equations on curved spaces are examined. The general method of the determination of wave equations from the known symmetry group of a symmetrical curved space is described. The method of obtaining the symmetrical spaces in which invariant wave equations admit the limiting passage to the relativistic wave equations on the flat (not necessarily real) spaces is explained. Starting from the equations for massless particles and from the Dirac equation in the Minkowski space, admissible real symmetrical…
A quantum mechanical path integral derivation is given of a thermal propagator in non-static Gui spacetime. The thermal nature of the propagator is understood in terms of homotopically non-trivial paths in the configuration space appropriate to tortoise coordinates. The connection to thermal emission from collapsing black holes is discussed.
When quantum fields are coupled to gravitational fields, spontaneous particle creation may occur similarly to when they are coupled to external electromagnetic fields. Gravitational fields can be incorporated as background spacetime if the back-action of matter on it can be neglected, yielding modified Dirac or Klein-Gordon equations for elementary fermions and bosons respectively. The semi-classical description predicts particle creation in many scenarios including expanding universe, near the event horizon of a black hole (the Hawking effect), and an accelerating observer in flat spacetime (…
In spinor formalism, since any massless free-field spinor with spin higher than $1/2$ can be constructed with spin-1/2 spinors (Dirac-Weyl spinors) and scalars, we introduce a map between Weyl fields and Dirac-Weyl fields. We determine the corresponding Dirac-Weyl spinors in a given empty spacetime. Regarding them as basic units, other higher spin massless free-field spinors are then identified. Along this way, we find some hidden fundamental features related to these fields. In particular, for non-twisting vacuum Petrov type N solutions, we show that all higher spin massless free-field spinor…
In spacetimes admitting Yano tensors the classical theory of the spinning particle possesses enhanced worldline supersymmetry. Quantum mechanically generators of extra supersymmetries correspond to operators that in the classical limit commute with the Dirac operator and generate conserved quantities. We show that the result is preserved in the full quantum theory, that is, Yano symmetries are not anomalous. This was known for Yano tensors of rank two, but our main result is to show that it extends to Yano tensors of arbitrary rank. We also describe the conformal Yano equation and show that is…
Comment on "Quantum phase transitions of Dirac particles in a magnetized rotating curved background: Interplay of geometry, magnetization, and thermodynamics"
We study the properties of graphene wormholes in which a short nanotube acts as a bridge between two graphene sheets, where the honeycomb carbon lattice is curved from the presence of 12 heptagonal defects. By taking the nanotube bridge with very small length compared to the radius, we develop an effective theory of Dirac fermions to account for the low-energy electronic properties of the wormholes in the continuum limit, where the frustration induced by the heptagonal defects is mimicked by a line of fictitious gauge flux attached to each of them. We find in particular that, when the effectiv…
The article presents computer algebra procedures and routines applied to the study of the Dirac field on curved spacetimes. The main part of the procedures is devoted to the construction of Pauli and Dirac matrices algebra on an anholonomic orthonormal reference frame. Then these procedures are used to compute the Dirac equation on curved spacetimes in a sequence of special dedicated routines. A comparative review of such procedures obtained for two computer algebra platforms (REDUCE + EXCALC and MAPLE + GRTensorII) is carried out. Applications for the calculus of Dirac equation on specific ex…
Relativistic spin-1/2 particles in curved spacetime are naturally described by Dirac theory, which is a dynamical and Lorentz-invariant field theory. In this work, we propose a non-dynamical fermion theory in 3+1 dimensions dubbed spinor topological field theory, built in terms of a spinor field and a Cartan connection related to de Sitter group. We show that our model gives rise to the Dirac theory in curved spacetime when the local de Sitter gauge invariance of the model breaks down to the Lorentz gauge invariance, providing also a geometric origin to the fermion mass. Finally, we show that …
We study the behaviour of spin-half particles in curved space-time. Since Dirac equation gives the dynamics of spin-half particles, we mainly study the Dirac equation in Schwarzschild, Kerr, Reissner-Nordström geometry. Due to the consideration of existence of black hole in space-time (the curved space-time), particles are influenced and equation will be modified. As a result the solution will be changed from that due to flat space.
The quantization of a single particle without spin in an appropriate curved space-time is considered. The Hamilton formalism on reduced space for a particle in a curved space-time is constructed and the main aspects of quantization scheme are developed. These investigations are applied to quantization of the particle Hamiltonian in an appropriate curved space-time. As an example the energy eigenvalues in Einstein universe are calculated. In the last sections o the paper approximation for small values of momenta of the results previously obtained is considered as well as quantization of polynom…
By requiring unambiguous symmetric quantization leading to the Dirac equation in a curved space, we obtain a special representation of the spin connections in terms of the Dirac gamma matrices and their space-time derivatives. We also require that squaring the equation give the Klein-Gordon equation in a curved space in its canonical from (without spinor components coupling and with no first order derivatives). These requirements result in matrix operator algebra for the Dirac gamma matrices that involves a universal curvature constant. We obtain exact solutions of the Dirac and Klein-Gordon e…
