We construct a map between the quantum field theory of free Weyl or Majorana fermions and the probability distribution of a classical statistical ensemble for Ising spins or discrete bits. More precisely, a Grassmann functional integral based on a real Grassmann algebra specifies the time evolution of the real wave function $q_τ(t)$ for the Ising states $τ$. The time dependent probability distribution of a generalized Ising model obtains as $p_τ(t)=q^2_τ(t)$. The functional integral employs a lattice regularization for single Weyl or Majorana spinors. We further introduce the complex structure characteristic for quantum mechanics. Probability distributions of the Ising model which correspond to one or many propagating fermions are discussed explicitly. Expectation values of observables can be computed equivalently in the classical statistical Ising model or in the quantum field theory for fermions.
There are Poincare group representations on complex Hilbert spaces, like the Dirac spinor field, or real Hilbert spaces, like the electromagnetic field tensor. The Majorana spinor is an element of a 4 dimensional real vector space. The Majorana spinor field is a space-time dependent Majorana spinor, solution of the free Dirac equation. The Majorana-Fourier and Majorana-Hankel transforms of Majorana spinor fields are defined and related to the linear and angular momenta of a spin one-half representation of the Poincare group. We show that the Majorana spinor field with finite mass is an unitary…
In many mathematical and physical contexts spinors are treated as Grassmann odd valued fields. We show that it is possible to extend the classification of reality conditions on such spinors by a new type of Majorana condition. In order to define this graded Majorana condition we make use of pseudo-conjugation, a rather unfamiliar extension of complex conjugation to supernumbers. Like the symplectic Majorana condition, the graded Majorana condition may be imposed, for example, in spacetimes in which the standard Majorana condition is inconsistent. However, in contrast to the symplectic conditio…
General spinors in polar form display a structure that is made up by real scalar degrees of freedom plus six components which can be recognized as Goldstone bosons: in the present paper we show that of all singular spinors, Weyl and Majorana spinors have no real degree of freedom and so that they can be interpreted as pure Goldstone states.
In various dimensional Euclidean lattice gauge theories, we examine a compatibility of the Majorana decomposition and the charge conjugation property of lattice Dirac operators. In $8n$ and $1+8n$ dimensions, we find a difficulty to decompose a classical lattice action of the Dirac fermion into a system of the Majorana fermion and thus to obtain a factorized form of the Dirac determinant. Similarly, in $2+8n$ dimensions, there is a difficulty to decompose a classical lattice action of the Weyl fermion into a system of the Majorana--Weyl fermion and thus to obtain a factrized form of the Weyl d…
The properties of Dirac gamma matrices in a four-dimensional space-time with the $(2,2)$ signature are studied. The basic spinors are classified, and the existence of Majorana-Weyl spinors is noted. Supersymmetry in $2 + 2$ dimensions is discussed, and the existence of the {\it real chiral} scalar supermultiplet is discovered. Supersymmetric {\it self-dual} Yang-Mills theories and {\it self-dual} supergravity model in $2 + 2$ dimensions, that are apparently relevant to integrable systems, are formulated for the first time.
A pseudoclassical theories of Majorana, Weyl and Majorana--Weyl particles in the space--time dimensions $D=2n$ are constructed. The canonical quantization of these theories is carried out and as a result we obtain the quantum mechanical description of neutral particle in $D=2n$ , Weyl particle in $D=2n$ and neutral Weyl particle in $D=4n+2$. In $D=2,4({\rm mod}8)$ dimensional space--time the description of the neutral particle coincides with the field theoretical description of the Majorana particle in the Foldy--Wouthuysen representation. In $D=8k+2$ dimensions the neutral Weyl particle coinc…
We show that the Dirac equation for real spinors can be naturally decomposed into a system of two first-order relativistic wave equations. The decomposition separates in a transparent way the real and imaginary parts of the Dirac equation by means of two algebraic differential operators, allowing to describe real spinors in any representation of the Dirac matrices maintaining the reality condition $\tildeΨ=\tildeΨ^{*}$ unaltered. In addition, it is shown that the Majorana wave equation is a particular case of the relativistic system of equations deduced in this paper. We also briefly discuss h…
I describe how the states of a discrete automata with p sites, each of which may be off or on, can be represented as Majorana spinors associated to a spacetime with signature (p,p). Some ideas about the quantization of such systems are discussed and the relationship to some unconventional formulations and generalizations of quantum mechanics, particularly Jordan's spinorial quantum mechanics are pointed out. A connection is made to the problem of time and the complex numbers in quantum gravity.
An overlap method for regularizing Majorana--Weyl fermions interacting with gauge fields is presented. A mod(2) index is introduced in relation to the anomalous violation of a discrete global chiral symmetry. Most of the paper is restricted to 2 dimensions but generalizations to 2+8k dimensions should be straightforward.
We consider the wave equation for spinors in ${\cal D}$-dimensional Weyl geometry. By appropriately coupling the Weyl vector $ϕ_μ$ as well as the spin connection $ω_{μa b } $ to the spinor field, conformal invariance can be maintained. The one loop effective action generated by the coupling of the spinor field to an external gravitational field is computed in two dimensions. It is found to be identical to the effective action for the case of a scalar field propagating in two dimensions.
We aspire to fufill Majorana's original goal of bringing full symmetry between the charged and fundamentally neutral particles. We present a description of fundamentally neutral particles without any reliance on Dirac spinors. We show that the extended set Majorana spinors (a) describe a Wigner class of fermions in which the charge conjugation and the parity operators commute, rather than anticommute, and (b) support two type of dispersion relations, the usual E= pm sqrt{p^2+m^2}, and a new E=- 2m \pm sqrt{p^2+m^2}. The latter may be preferred over the former on minimization of energy requirem…
We investigate the spinor classification of the Weyl tensor in five dimensions due to De Smet. We show that a previously overlooked reality condition reduces the number of possible types in the classification. We classify all vacuum solutions belonging to the most special algebraic type. The connection between this spinor and the tensor classification due to Coley, Milson, Pravda and Pravdová is investigated and the relation between most of the types in each of the classifications is given. We show that the black ring is algebraically general in the spinor classification.
Clifford algebras and Majorana conditions are analyzed in any spacetime. An index labeling inequivalent $Γ$-structures up to orthogonal conjugations is introduced. Inequivalent charge-operators in even-dimensions, invariant under Wick rotations, are considered. The hermiticity condition on free-spinors lagrangians is presented. The constraints put by the Majorana condition on the free-spinors dynamics are analyzed. Tables specifying which spacetimes admit lagrangians with non-vanishing kinetic, massive or pseudomassive terms (for both charge-operators in even dimensions) are given. The admissi…
Higher dimensional Majorana-Weyl spacetimes present space-time dualities which are induced by the Spin(8) triality automorphisms. This corresponds to a very fundamental property of the supersymmetry in higher dimensions, i.e. that any given theory can be formulated in different signatures all interconnected by the S_3 permutation group.
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 a new Weyl 2-spinor approach to Non abelian Gauge Theories, starting with the local U(1) Gauge group of a previous work, we study now the SU(3) case corresponding to quarks (antiquarks) interacting with color fields. The principal difference with the conventional approach is that particle-field interactions are not described by means of potentials but by the field strength magnitudes. Some analytical expressions showing similarities with electrodynamics are obtained. Classical equations that describe the behavior of quarks under gluon fields might be in principle applied to the quark-gluon …
Majorana-Weyl spacetimes offer a rich algebraic setup and new types of space-time dualities besides those discussed by Hull. The triality automorphisms of Spin(8) act non-trivially on Majorana-Weyl representations and Majorana-Weyl spacetimes with different signatures. In particular relations exist among the (1+9)-(5+5)-(9+1) spacetimes, as well as their transverse coordinates spacetimes (0+8)-(4+4)-(8+0). Larger dimensional spacetimes such as (2+10)-(6+6)-(10+2) also show dualities induced by triality. A precise three-languages dictionary is here given. It furnishes the exact translations amo…
A self-contained derivation of the formalism describing Weyl, Majorana and Dirac fields from a unified perspective is given based on a concise description of the representation theory of the proper orthochronous Lorentz group. Lagrangian methods play no role in the present exposition, which covers several fundamental aspects of relativistic field theory which are commonly not included in introductory courses when treating fermionic fields via the Dirac equation in the first place.
One can always write the mass matrix for Weyl spinors so that it is symmetric. However this is often not a good idea. It is usually incompatible with irreducibility of the fermion representations. As a result, a symmetrized mass term hides important symmetries and creates misleading difficulties that are not genuinely part of the theory. This is true for the Standard Model for example, and for its supersymmetric versions. There is a related subtlety, involving symmetrization of the interaction terms, that is central to the SUSY breaking mechanism of Cybersusy.
This is a review of some elementary properties of Dirac, Weyl and Majorana spinors in 4d. We focus in particular on the differences between massless Dirac and Majorana fermions, on one side, and Weyl fermions, on the other. We review in detail the definition of their effective actions, when coupled to (vector and axial) gauge fields, and revisit the corresponding anomalies using the Feynman diagram method with different regularizations. Among various well known results we stress in particular the regularization independence in perturbative approaches, while not all the regularizations fit the …
In a previous paper we introduced two linear spinor equations equivalent to the Lorentz Force and stated that these equations were fairly general and could be applied to any force field compatible with Special Relativity. In this paper, via a lagrangian approach, we explore this possibility and obtain classical spinor equations describing the behaviour of fermionic particles not only under an electromagnetic field but also under Yang-Mills and Color fields. We find a covariant derivative defined {\it along the classical trajectory} of the particle, which can be extended to SU(2) and SU(3) loca…
Higher dimensional Majorana-Weyl spacetimes present space-time dualities which are induced by the Spin(8) triality automorphisms. Different signature versions of theories such as 10-dimensional SYM's, superstrings, five-branes, F-theory, are shown to be interconnected via the S_3 permutation group. Bilinear and trilinear invariants under space-time triality are introduced and their possible relevance in building models possessing a space-versus-time exchange symmetry is discussed. Moreover the Cartan's ``vector/chiral spinor/antichiral spinor" triality of SO(8) and SO(4,4) is analyzed in detai…
A spinorial approach to 6-dimensional differential geometry is constructed and used to analyze tensor fields of low rank, with special attention to the Weyl tensor. We perform a study similar to the 4-dimensional case, making full use of the SO(6) symmetry to uncover results not easily seen in the tensorial approach. Using spinors, we propose a classification of the Weyl tensor by reinterpreting it as a map from 3-vectors to 3-vectors. This classification is shown to be intimately related to the integrability of maximally isotropic subspaces, establishing a natural framework to generalize the …
After a quick historical account of the introduction of the group-theoretical description of Quantum Mechanics in terms of symmetries, as proposed by Weyl, we examine some unpublished papers by Ettore Majorana. Remarkable results achieved by him in frontier research topics as well as in physics teaching point out that the Italian physicist can be well considered as a follower of Weyl in his reformulation of Quantum Mechanics.
We consider the single-handed spinor field in interaction with its own gravitational field described by the set of field equations given by Weyl field equations written in terms of derivatives that are covariant with respect to the gravitational connection plus Einstein field equations soured with the energy tensor of the spinor: for the Weyl spinor and the ensuing spacetime of Weyl-Lewis-Papapetrou structure, we will find all exact solutions. The obtained solution for the metric tensor is that of a PP-wave spacetime while the spinor field is a flag-dipole.
Solutions to the four-dimensional Euclidean Weyl equation in the background of a general JNR N-instanton are known to be normalisable and regular throughout four-space. We show that these solutions are asymptotically given by a linear combination of simple singular solutions to the free Weyl equation, which can be interpreted as localised spinors. The `spinorial' data parameterising the asymptotics of the delocalised solutions to the Weyl equation in the presence of the instanton almost determines the background instanton, yet not completely. However, it captures the geometry and symmetry of t…
Metric spinor phase of the Infeld-van der Waerden γ-formalism and axion field were identified in Ref. [1], by using Maxwell theory. Since axion couples with fermions, we will investigate Dirac theory to extend the work given in [1], showing that is possible again to identify this phase with the axion. By searching an exact identification, we will work yet the spin transformations to adapt chiral rotations and so to show that the metric spinor phase behaves exactly as required for the axion field. We will study also the Dirac-Maxwell system which provides a minimal Lagrangian approach for the a…
In the standard model, electroweak theory is based on chiral gauge symmetry, which only contains massless fermions and gauge vectors. So the fundamental field equations are Weyl equations including gauge vectors. We deduced these Weyl equations without gauge vector from quadric surface in three dimensional oriented projective geometry. It showed that Weyl equations were equations of generating lines in the quadric surface. In other word, the geometric correspondence of spinor is generating lines of quadric surface in momentum space. It also showed that two spinors would generate a gauge vector…
This is a pedagogical article which discusses various kinds of fermion fields: Dirac, Majorana and Weyl. The definitions and motivations for introducing each kind of fields is discussed, along with the connections between them. It is pointed out that these definitions have to do with the proper Lorentz group, and not with respect to any discrete symmetry. The relationship of discrete symmetries like charge conjugation and CP, particularly important for Majorana fermions, has also been clarified.
We consider the fermionization of a bosonic free theory characterized by the 3+1D scalar - tensor duality. This duality can be interpreted as the dimensional reduction, via a planar boundary, of the 4+1D topological BF theory. In this model, adopting the Sommerfield tomographic representation of quantized bosonic fields, we explicitly build a fermionic operator and its associated Klein factor such that it satisfies the correct anticommutation relations. Interestingly, we demonstrate that this operator satisfies the massless Dirac equation and that it can be identified with a 3+1D Weyl spinor. …
We consider weighted parallel spinors in Lorentzian Weyl geometry in arbitrary dimensions, choosing the weight such that the integrability condition for the existence of such a spinor, implies the geometry to be Einstein-Weyl. We then use techniques developed for the classification of supersymmetric solutions to supergravity theories to characterise those Lorentzian EW geometries that allow for a weighted parallel spinor, calling the resulting geometries supersymmetric. The overall result is that they are either conformally related to ordinary geometries admitting parallel spinors (w.r.t. the …
We present two band models for free fermion with charge conjugation symmetry in three dimensions. Without time reversal symmetry (TRS), the weak pairing gapless $A$-phase is a Majorana fermion $p_x+ip_y$ wave FFLO state while the strong pairing gapped $B$-phase belongs to topologically trivial Class $D$. With TRS, there is a Majorana fermion $B$-phase belonging to Class $DIII$ with a non-zero Hopf invariant. The TRS $A$-phase is also a Majorana fermion FFLO state with TRS. The surface states of the TRS $B$-phase are either a valley-momentum locked Majorana-Dirac cone or a linear-quadratic mixe…
We extend our program, of coupling theories to scale in order to make their Weyl invariance manifest, to include interacting theories, fermions and supersymmetric theories. The results produce mass terms coinciding with the standard ones for universes that are Einstein, but are novel in general backgrounds. They are generalizations of the gravitational couplings of a conformally improved scalar to fields with general scaling and tensor properties. The couplings we find are more general than just trivial ones following from the conformal compensating mechanisms. In particular, in the setting wh…
We propose a continuous Wick rotation for Dirac, Majorana and Weyl spinors from Minkowski spacetime to Euclidean space which treats fermions on the same footing as bosons. The result is a recipe to construct a supersymmetric Euclidean theory from any supersymmetric Minkowski theory. This Wick rotation is identified as a complex Lorentz boost in a five-dimensional space and acts uniformly on bosons and fermions. For Majorana and Weyl spinors our approach is reminiscent of the traditional Osterwalder Schrader approach in which spinors are ``doubled'' but the action is not hermitean. However, for…
A concise discussion of spin-1/2 field equations with a special focus on Majorana spinors is presented. The Majorana formalism which describes massive neutral fermions by the help of two-component or four-component spinors is of fundamental importance for the understanding of mathematical aspects of supersymmetric and other extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics, which may play an increasingly important role at the beginning of the LHC era. The interplay between the two-component and the four-component formalism is highlighted in an introductory way. Majorana particles are predic…
This paper proves that from the algebraic point of view ELKO spinor fields belong together with Majorana spinor fields to a wider class of spinor fields, the so-called flagpole spinor fields, corresponding to the class 5, according to Lounesto spinor field classification. The main algebraic difference between ELKO and Majorana spinor fields is that in the first case their respective two 2-component spinor fields present opposite helicities, while in the second case the helicity associated with the two 2-component of ELKO are not imposed to be flipped. The proof of our statement is based on Lou…
We discuss fermions for arbitrary dimensions and signature of the metric, with special emphasis on euclidean space. Generalized Majorana spinors are defined for $d=2,3,4,8,9$ mod 8, independently of the signature. These objects permit a consistent analytic continuation of Majorana spinors in Min-kowski space to euclidean signature. Compatibility of charge conjugation with complex conjugation requires for euclidean signature a new complex structure which involves a reflection in euclidean time. The possible complex structures for Minkowski and euclidean signature can be understood in terms of a…
A classification of spinor fields according to the associated bilinear covariants is constructed in arbitrary dimensions and metric signatures, generalizing Lounesto's 4D spinor field classification. In such a generalized classification a basic role is played by the geometric Fierz identities. In 4D Minkowski spacetime the standard bilinear covariants can be either null or non-null -- with the exception of the current density which is invariably different from zero for physical reasons -- and sweep all types of spinor fields, including Dirac, Weyl, Majorana and more generally flagpoles, flag-d…
We obtain a continuous Wick rotation for Dirac, Majorana and Weyl spinors $ψ\to \exp ({1\over 2} θγ^4 γ^5)ψ$ which interpolates between Minkowski and Euclidean field theories.
A Majorana fermion is the single fermionic particle that is its own antiparticle. Its dynamics is determined by the Majorana equation, where the spinor field is by definition equal to its charge-conjugate field. In this paper, we investigated Shannon's entropy of linear Majorana fermions to understand how this quantity is modified due to an external potential of the linear type linear. Subsequently, we turn our attention to the construction of an ensemble of these Majorana particles to study the thermodynamic properties of the model. Finally, we show how Shannon's entropy and thermodynamic pro…
We compute the deformation of the spinor fields of the super-Polyakov action leading to the so-called tensionless super-string theory. This allows us to obtain a satisfying Majorana condition in the tensionless limit, which is the main result of this paper. Our tensionless limit is shown to possess previously computed features of tensionless super-string theory.
We discuss the problem of how Majorana mass terms can be generated in low-energy systems. We show that, while these terms imply the Majorana condition, the opposite is not always true when more than one flavour is involved. This is an important aspect for the low-energy realizations of the Majorana mass terms exploiting superfluid pairings, because in this case the Majorana condition is not implemented in the spinor space, but in an internal (flavour) space. Moreover, these mass terms generally involve opposite effective chiralities, similarly to a Dirac mass term. The net effect of these feat…
Can one make a Majorana field theory for fermions starting from the zero mass Weyl theory, then adding a mass term as an interaction? The answer to this question is: yes we can. We can proceed similarly to the case of the Dirac massive field theory. In both cases one can start from the zero mass Weyl theory and then add a mass term as an interacting term of massless particles with a constant (external) field. In both cases the interaction gives rise to a field theory for a free massive fermion field. We present the procedure for the creation of a mass term in the case of the Dirac and the Majo…
Two dimensional dilaton gravity interacting with a four-fermion model and scalars is investigated, all the coefficients of the Lagrangian being arbitrary functions of the dilaton field. The one-loop covariant effective action for 2D dilaton gravity with Majorana spinors (including the four-fermion interaction) is obtained, and the technical problems which appear in an attempt at generalizing such calculations to the case of the most general four-fermion model described by Dirac fermions are discussed. A solution to these problems is found, based on its reduction to the Majorana spinor case. Th…
This article is a pedagogical introduction to relativistic quantum mechanics of the free Majorana particle. This relatively simple theory differs from the well-known quantum mechanics of the Dirac particle in several important aspects. We present its three equivalent formulations. Next, so called axial momentum observable is introduced, and general solution of the Dirac equation is discussed in terms of eigenfunctions of that operator. Pertinent irreducible representations of the Poincaré group are discussed. Finally, we show that in the case of massless Majorana particle the quantum mechanics…
We propose a relativistic Jeff=3/2 semimetal with 4d1 or 5d1 electrons on a cubic lattice when the strong spin-orbital coupling takes over the Hunds' coupling. A relativistic spinor with spin 3/2 is historically called Rarita-Schwinger spinor. In the massless case, the right- and left-handed chiral degrees of freedom of the Rarita-Schwinger spinors are independent. In the lattice model that we propose, the right- and left- handed gapless points in Brillouin zone are separated. We call this linearly dispersed semimetal Rarita-Schwinger-Weyl semimetal, similar to Weyl semimetal for spin 1/2 syst…
In Ref. \cite{Horava2005} Hořava suggested, that the multi - fermion many-body system with topologically stable Fermi surfaces may effectively be described (in a vicinity of the Fermi surface) by the theory with coarse-grained fermions. The number of the components of these coarse-grained fermions is reduced compared to the original system. Here we consider the $3+1$ D system and concentrate on the particular case when the Fermi surface has co-dimension $p=3$, i.e. it represents the Fermi point in momentum space. First we demonstrate explicitly that in agreement with Hořava conjecture, in the …
Motivated by an apparent paradox in [X L. Qi, E.Witten, S-C. Zhang, Phys. Rev. B 87 134519 (2013)] we use the method of gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten functionals to construct an effective action for a Weyl fermion whose Majorana mass arises from coupling to a charged condensate. We obtain expressions for the current induced by an external gauge field and observe that the topological part of the current is only one-third of that that might have been expected from the gauge anomaly. The anomaly is not changed by the induced mass gap however. The topological current is supplemented by a conventional …
The Weyl double copy relates vacuum solutions in general relativity to Abelian gauge fields in Minkowski spacetime. In a previous work, we showed how the Weyl double copy can be extended to provide a treatment of external gravitational sources consistent with the classical Kerr-Schild double copy. Using this generalization, here we provide a complete double copy analysis of electrovacuum Petrov type D spacetimes. This includes the first analysis of the charged C-metric, whose single copy interpretation invokes the two-potential formalism of electrodynamics. We also present the first double cop…
We explore the Euclidean supersymmetric solutions admitting the self-dual gauge field in the framework of ${\cal N}=2$ minimal gauged supergravity in four dimensions. According to the classification scheme utilizing the spinorial geometry or the bilinears of Killing spinors, the general solution preserves one quarter of supersymmetry and is described by the Przanowski-Tod class with the self-dual Weyl tensor. We demonstrate that there exists an additional Killing spinor, provided the Przanowski-Tod metric admits a Killing vector that commutes with the principal one. The proof proceeds by recas…
The main purpose of this work is to show that massless Dirac equation formulated for non-interacting Majorana-Weyl spinors in higher dimensions, particularly in D=1+9 and D=5+5, can lead to an interpretation of massive Majorana and Dirac spinors in D=1+3. By adopting suitable representations of the Dirac matrices in higher dimensions, we pursue the investigation of which higher dimensional space-times and which mass-shell relation concerning massless Dirac equations in higher dimensions may induce massive spinors in D=1+3. The mixing of the chiral fermions in higher dimensions may induce a mec…
