Recently (Phys. Rev. Lett. 114 (2015), 210402) the influence of the so called "Wigner translations" (more generally-Lorentz trans- formations) on circularly polarized Gaussian packets ( providing the solution to Maxwell equations in paraxial approximation) has been studied. It appears that, within this approximation, the Wigner trans- lations have an efect of shifting the wave packet trajectory parallel to itself by an amount proportional to the photon helicity. It has been suggested that this shift may result from specific properties of the algebra of Poincare generators for massless particles. In the present letter we describe the general relation between transformation proper- ties of electromagnetic field on quantum and classical levels. It allows for a straightforward derivation of the helicity-dependent transforma- tion rules. We present also an elementary derivation of the formula for sideways shift based on classical Maxwell theory. Some comments are made concerning the generalization to higher helicities and the relation to the coordinate operator defined long time ago by Pryce.
It is shown that dynamics of D+2 elements of the (super)diffeomorphism group in one (1+1 for the super) dimension describes the D - dimensional (spinning) massless relativistic particles. The coordinates of this elements (D+2 einbeins, D+2 connections and 1 additional common coordinate of higher dimensionality) play the role of coordinates, momenta and Lagrange multiplier, needed for the manifestly conformal and reparametrization invariant description of the D - dimensional (spinning) particle in terms of the D+2 - dimensional spacetime.
The Wigner little group for massless particles is isomorphic to the Euclidean group ${\rm SE}(2)$. Applied to momentum eigenstates, or to infinite plane waves, the Euclidean "Wigner translations" act as the identity. We show that when applied to finite wavepackets the translation generators move the packet trajectory parallel to itself through a distance proportional to the particle's helicity. We relate this effect to the Hall effect of light and to the Lorentz-frame dependence of the position of a massless spinning particle.
A twistor model of a free massless spinning particle in 4-dimensional Minkowski space is studied in terms of spacetime and spinor variables. This model is specified by a simple action, referred to here as the gauged Shirafuji action, that consists of twistor variables and gauge fields on the 1-dimensional parameter space. We consider the canonical formalism of the model by following the Dirac formulation for constrained Hamiltonian systems. In the subsequent quantization procedure, we obtain a plane-wave solution with momentum spinors. From this solution and coefficient functions, we construct…
Semiclassical chiral fermion models with Berry term are studied in a symplectic framework. In the free case, the system can be obtained from Souriau's model for a relativistic massless spinning particle by "enslaving" the spin. The Berry term is identified with the classical spin two-form of the latter model. The Souriau model carries a natural Poincaré symmetry that we highlight, but spin enslavement breaks the boost symmetry. However the relation between the models allows us to derive a Poincare symmetry of unconventional form for chiral fermions. Then we couple our system to an external ele…
The components of the position operator, at a fixed time, for a massless and spinning particle with given helicity $λ$ described in terms of bosonic degrees of freedom have an anomalous commutator proportional to $λ$. The position operator generates translations in momentum space. We show that a ray-representation for these translations emerges due to the non-commuting components of the position operators and relate this to the Berry-phase for photons. The Tomita-Chiao experiment then gives support for this relativistic and quantum mechanical description of photons in terms of non-commuting po…
The motion of spinning massless particles in gravitationally curved backgrounds is revisited by considering new types of constraints. Those constraints guarantee zero mass ($P_μP^μ=0$) and they allow for the possibility of trajectories which are not simply null geodesics. To exemplify this previously unknown possibility, the equations of motion are solved for radial motion in Schwarzschild background. It is found that the particle experiences a spin-induced energy shift, which is proportional to the Hawking temperature of the black hole background.
Starting with a manifestly conformal ($O(d,2)$ invariant) mechanics model in $d$ space and 2 time dimensions, we derive the action for a massless spinning particle in $d$-dimensional anti-de Sitter space. The action obtained possesses both gauge $N$-extended worldline supersymmetry and local $O(N)$ invarince. Thus we improve the old statement by Howe et al. that the spinning particle model with extended worldline supersymmetry admits only flat space-time background for $N > 2$ (spin greater one). The original $(d+2)$-dimensional model is characterized by rather unusual property that the corres…
We revisit the classical theory of a relativistic massless charged point particle with spin and interacting with an external electromagnetic field. In particular, we give a proper definition of its kinetic energy and its total energy, the latter being conserved when the external field is stationary. We also write the conservation laws for the linear and angular momenta. Finally, we find that the particle's velocity may differ from $c$ as a result of the spin---electromagnetic field interaction, without jeopardizing Lorentz invariance.
A pseudoclassical model, reproducing, upon quantization, the dynamics of the chiral sectors of the massless spin-1/2 field theory is proposed. The discrete symmetries of the action are studied in details. In order to reproduce the positive and negative chiral sectors of the particle and antiparticle, we promote the algebra of functions on the phase space to a bimodule over the complexified quaternions - biquaternions. The quantization is performed by means of strictly canonical methods (Dirac brackets formalism) reproducing the Dirac equation in the Foldy-Wouthuysen representation in the parti…
Horizonless spacetimes describing highly compact exotic objects with reflecting (instead of absorbing) surfaces have recently attracted much attention from physicists and mathematicians as possible quantum-gravity alternatives to canonical classical black-hole spacetimes. Interestingly, it has recently been proved that spinning compact objects with angular momenta in the sub-critical regime ${\bar a}\equiv J/M^2\leq1$ are characterized by an infinite countable set of surface radii, $\{r_{\text{c}}({\bar a};n)\}^{n=\infty}_{n=1}$, that can support asymptotically flat static configurations made …
We study actions for massive bosonic particles of higher spins by dimensionally reducing an action for massless particles. For the latter we take a model with a SO(N) extended local supersymmetry on the worldline, that is known to describe massless (conformal) particles of higher spins in flat spacetimes of even dimensions. Dimensional reduction produces an action for massive spinning particles in odd dimensions. The field equations that emerge in a quantization a la Dirac are shown to be equivalent to the Fierz-Pauli ones. The massless limit generates a multiplet of massless states with highe…
Massless spinning particle and tensionless string models on $AdS_d$ background in the projective-space realization are proposed as constrained Hamiltonian systems. Various forms of particle and string Lagrangians are derived and classical mechanics is studied including the Lax-type representation of the equations of motion. After that transition to the quantum theory is discussed. Analysis of potential anomalies in the tensionless string model necessitates introduction of ghosts and BRST charge. It is shown that quantum BRST charge is nilpotent for any $d$ if coordinate-momentum ordering for t…
Twistor phase spaces are used to provide a general description of the dynamics of a finite number of directly interacting massless spinning particles forming a closed relativistic massive and spinning system with an internal structure. A Poincare invariant canonical quantization of the so obtained twistor phase space dynamics is performed.
We calculate the quantum corrections to the gauge-invariant gravitational potentials of spinning particles in flat space, induced by loops of both massive and massless matter fields of various types. While the corrections to the Newtonian potential induced by massless conformal matter for spinless particles are well-known, and the same corrections due to massless minimally coupled scalars [Class. Quant. Grav. 27 (2010) 245008], massless non-conformal scalars [Phys. Rev. D 87 (2013) 104027] and massive scalars, fermions and vector bosons [Phys. Rev. D 91 (2015) 064047] have been recently derive…
The notion of position operator for massless spinning particles is discussed in some detail. The noncommutativity of coordinates is related to the gauge symmetry following from the freedom in definition of standard state in Wigner's construction of induced representations of Poincare group. The counterpart of Newton-Wigner operator is discussed. It is explained why the Newton-Wigner construction works only for helicity $ \midλ\mid\leq1/2$.
A generalized twistor transform for spinning particles in 3+1 dimensions is constructed that beautifully unifies many types of spinning systems by mapping them to the same twistor, thus predicting an infinite set of duality relations among spinning systems with different Hamiltonians. Usual 1T-physics is not equipped to explain the duality relationships and unification between these systems. We use 2T-physics in 4+2 dimensions to uncover new properties of twistors, and expect that our approach will prove to be useful for practical applications as well as for a deeper understanding of fundament…
In this paper the general form of scattering amplitudes for massless particles with equal spins s ($s s \to s s$) or unequal spins ($s_a s_b \to s_a s_b$) are derived. The imposed conditions are that the amplitudes should have the lowest possible dimension, have propagators of dimension $m^{-2}$, and obey gauge invariance. It is shown that the number of momenta required for amplitudes involving particles with s > 2 is higher than the number implied by 3-vertices for higher spin particles derived in the literature. Therefore, the dimension of the coupling constants following from the latter 3-v…
We have studied the perturbation of a spinning dilaton black hole in 2 +1 dimensions by a massless scalar field. The wave equations of a massless scalar field is shown to be exactly solvable in terms of hypergeometric functions. The quasinormal frequencies are computed for slowly spinning black holes. The stability of the black hole is discussed. The asymptotic form of the quasinormal frequencies are evaluated. The area spectrum of the quantum black holes are evaluated by using the asymptotic quasi-normal frequencies and is shown to be equally-spaced.
Motivated by the conduction properties of graphene discovered and studied in the last decades, we consider the quantum dynamics of a massless, charged, spin 1/2 relativistic particle in three dimensional space-time, in the presence of an electrostatic field in various configurations such as step or barrier potentials and generalizations of them. The field is taken as parallel to the y coordinate axis and vanishing outside of a band parallel to the x axis. The classical theory is reviewed, together with its canonical quantization leading to the Dirac equation for a 2-component spinor. Stationar…
An explicit construction of theories of spinning particles, both massive and massless, is given with arbitrary extended supersymmetry on the world-line. As an application of our results, we give a universal description of 3D (and via truncation all lower dimensional) supersymmetric scalar multiplets with arbitrary N-extended supersymmetry.
We construct coherent states of the massless and massive representations of the Poincaré group. They are parameterised by points on the classical state space of spinning particles. Their properties are explored, with special emphasis on the geometrical structures on the state space.
A twistorial formulation of a particle of arbitrary spin has been constructed. Equations of the twistor formulation are obtained for massive and massless spinning particles. The twistor space of the massive particle is formed by two twistors and two complex scalars. In the massive case, integral transformations relating twistor fields with usual space-time fields have been constructed.
We review the unified description of massless spinning particles, living in spaces of constant curvature, in the framework of the pseudoclassical approach with a gauged $N$-extended worldline supersymmetry and a local $O(N)$ invariance.
We study certain spinning strings exploring the flat directions of AdS3 x S3 x S3 x S1, the massless sector cousins of su(2) and sl(2) sector spinning strings. We describe these, and their vibrational modes, using the D(2,1;α)^2 algebraic curve. By exploiting a discrete symmetry of this structure which reverses the direction of motion on the spheres, and alters the masses of the fermionic modes s \to 1-s, we find out how to treat the massless fermions which were previously missing from this formalism. We show that folded strings behave as a special case of circular strings, in a sense which in…
The canonical quantization of $D=2n$ dimensional Dirac spinning particle in the external electromagnetic field is carried out in the gauge which allows to describe simultaneously particles and antiparticles (massive and massless) already at the classical level. Pseudoclassical Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation is used to obtain canonical (Newton-Wigner) coordinates and in terms of this variables the theory is quantized. The connection of this quantization with the Blount picture of Dirac particle in the external electromagnetic field is discussed.
The two-twistor formulation of particle mechanics in D-dimensional anti-de Sitter space for D=4,5,7, which linearises invariance under the AdS isometry group Sp(4;K) for K=R,C,H, is generalized to the massless N-extended "spinning particle". The twistor variables are gauge invariant with respect to the initial N local worldline supersymmetries; this simplifies aspects of the quantum theory such as implications of global gauge anomalies. We also give details of the two-supertwistor form of the superparticle, in particular the massive superparticle on AdS_5.
If there exist higher-spin particles during inflation which are light compared to the Hubble rate, they may leave distinct statistical anisotropic imprints on the correlators involving scalar and graviton fluctuations. We characterise such signatures using the dS/CFT$_3$ correspondence and the operator product expansion techniques. In particular, we obtain generic results for the case of partially massless higher-spin states.
We present a path integral representation for massless spin one-half particles. It is shown that this gives us a super-symmetric, P-and T-non-invariant pseudoclassical model for relativistic massless spinning particles. Dirac quantization of this model is considered.
We describe the quantum theory of massless (p,0)-forms that satisfy a suitable holomorphic generalization of the free Maxwell equations on Kaehler spaces. These equations arise by first-quantizing a spinning particle with a U(1)-extended local supersymmetry on the worldline. Dirac quantization of the spinning particle produces a physical Hilbert space made up of (p,0)-forms that satisfy holomorphic Maxwell equations coupled to the background Kaehler geometry, containing in particular a charge that measures the amount of coupling to the U(1) part of the U(d) holonomy group of the d-dimensional …
We consider a model of the classical spinning particle in which the coadjoint orbits of the Poincare group are parametrized by two pairs of canonically conjugate four vectors, one representing the standard position and momentum variables and the other which encodes the spinning degrees of freedom. This "Dual Phase Space Model" is shown to be a consistent theory of both massive and massless particles and allows for coupling to background fields such as electromagnetism. The on-shell action is derived and shown to be a sum of two terms, one associated with motion in spacetime and the other with …
A massless scalar field is quantized in the background of a spinning string with cosmic dislocation. By increasing the spin density toward the dislocation parameter, a region containing closed timelike curves (CTCs) eventually forms around the defect. Correspondingly, the propagator tends to the ordinary cosmic string propagator, leading therefore to a mean-square field fluctuation, which remains well behaved throughout the process, unlike the vacuum expectation value of the energy-momentum tensor, which diverges due to a subtle mechanism. These results suggest that back reaction leads to the …
We explore various tree-level double copy constructions for amplitudes including massive particles with spin. By working in general dimensions, we use that particles with spins $s\leq 2$ are fundamental to argue that the corresponding double copy relations partially follow from compactification of their massless counterparts. This massless origin fixes the coupling of gluons, dilatons and axions to matter in a characteristic way (for instance fixing the gyromagnetic ratio), whereas the graviton couples universally reflecting the equivalence principle. For spin-1 matter we conjecture all-order …
The classical dynamics of N spinning point sources in 2+1 Einstein-Cartan gravity is considered. It corresponds to the ISO(2,1) Chern-Simons theory, in which the torsion source is restricted to its intrinsic spin part. A class of explicit solutions is found for the dreibein and the spin connection, which are torsionless in the spinless limit. By using the residual local Poincare' invariance of the solutions, we fix the gauge so that the metric is smooth outside the particles and satisfies proper asymptotic conditions at space and time infinity. We recover previous results for test bodies and f…
We reconsider the gauge symmetries of the spinning particle by a direct examination of the Lagrangian using a systematic procedure based on the Noether identities. It proves possible to find a set of local Bosonic and Fermionic gauge transformations that have a simple gauge group structure, which is a true Lie algebra, both for the massless and massive case. This new Fermionic gauge transformation of the "position" and "spin" variables in the action decouples from that of the "einbein" and "gravitino". It is also possible to redefine the fields so that this simple algebra of commutators of the…
We extend the cosmological bootstrap to correlators involving massless particles with spin. In de Sitter space, these correlators are constrained both by symmetries and by locality. In particular, the de Sitter isometries become conformal symmetries on the future boundary of the spacetime, which are reflected in a set of Ward identities that the boundary correlators must satisfy. We solve these Ward identities by acting with weight-shifting operators on scalar seed solutions. Using this weight-shifting approach, we derive three- and four-point correlators of massless spin-1 and spin-2 fields w…
The pseudoclassical hamiltonian and action of the $D=2n$ dimensional Dirac particle with anomalous magnetic moment interacting with the external Yang-Mills field are found. The Bargmann-Michel-Telegdi equation of motion for the Pauli-Lubanski vector is deduced. The canonical quantization of $D=2n$ dimensional Dirac spinning particle with anomalous magnetic moment in the external Yang-Mills field is carried out in the gauge which allows to describe simultaneously particles and antiparticles (massive and massless) already at the classical level. Pseudoclassical Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation is…
We consider the relation between spin and the Berry-phase contribution to the anomalous velocity of massive and massless Dirac particles. We extend the Berry connection that depends only on the spatial components of the particle momentum to one that depends on the the space and time components in a covariant manner. We show that this covariant Berry connection captures the Thomas-precession part of the Bargmann-Michel-Telegdi spin evolution, and contrast it with the traditional (unitary, but not naturally covariant) Berry connection that describes spin-orbit coupling. We then consider how the …
In this letter we suggest a natural spinor-helicity formalism for massless fields in AdS${}_4$. It is based on the standard realization of the AdS${}_4$ isometry algebra $so(3,2)$ in terms of differential operators acting on $sl(2,\mathbb{C})$ spinor variables. We start by deriving the AdS counterpart of plane waves in flat space and then use them to evaluate simple scattering amplitudes. Finally, based on symmetry arguments we classify all three-point amplitudes involving massless spinning fields. As in flat space, we find that the spinor-helicity formalism allows to construct additional cons…
A short review of special relativistic dynamics describing a particle acted upon by an arbitrary conservative external force is presented. If the mass of the particle is zero and the force is central then the equations of motion turn out to be completely integrable. A well-known result. Hamiltonian flows on the twistor phase space T are constructed which, for conservative forces and value of the helicity equal to zero, reproduce equations of motion of the classical massless particle. For helicities different from zero the same hamiltonian flows produce equations of motion showing a curious "Zi…
The properties of a stationary massless string endowed with intrinsic spin are discussed. The spacetime is Minkowskian geometrically but the topology is nontrivial due to the horizon located on the surface $r=0$, similar with Rindler's case. For $r$ less than the Planck length $b$, $g_{ϕϕ}$ has the same sign as $g_{tt}$ and closed timelike curves are possible. We assume an elementary particles' spin originates in the frame dragging effect produced by the rotation of the source. The Sagnac time delay is calculated and proves to be constant.
The origin of the ultra-high-energy particles we receive on the Earth from the outer space such as EeV cosmic rays and PeV neutrinos remains an enigma. All mechanisms known to us currently make use of electromagnetic interaction to accelerate charged particles. In this paper we propose a mechanism exclusively based on gravity rather than electromagnetic interaction. We show that it is possible to generate ultra-high-energy particles starting from particles with moderate energies using the collisional Penrose process in an overspinning Kerr spacetime transcending the Kerr bound only by an infin…
We analyze collisional Penrose process of spinning test particles in an extreme Kerr black hole. We consider that two particles plunge into the black hole from infinity and collide near the black hole. For the collision of two massive particles, if the spins of particles are $s_1 \approx 0.01379μM$ and $s_2 \approx -0.2709μM$, we obtain the maximal efficiency is about $η_{max} = (\text{extracted energy})=(\text{input energy}) \approx 15.01$, which is more than twice as large as the case of the collision of non-spinning particles ($η_{max} \approx 6.32$). We also evaluate the collision of a mas…
The pseudoclassical hamiltonian and action of the $D=2n$ dimensional Dirac particle with anomalous magnetic moment interacting with the external electromagnetic field is found. The Bargmann-Michel-Telegdi equation of motion for the Pauli-Lubanski vector is deduced. The canonical quantization of $D=2n$ dimensional Dirac spinning particle with anomalous magnetic moment in the external electromagnetic field is carried out in the gauge which allows to describe simultaneously particles and antiparticles (massive and massless) already at the classical level. Pseudoclassical Foldy-Wouthuysen transfor…
The semiclassical evolution of spinning particles has recently been re-examined in condensed matter physics, high energy physics, and optics, resulting in the prediction of the intrinsic spin Hall effect associated with the Berry phase. A fundamental nature of this effect is related to the spin-orbit interaction and topological monopoles. Here we report a unified theory and a direct observation of two mutual phenomena: a spin-dependent deflection (the spin Hall effect) of photons and the precession of the Stokes vector along the coiled ray trajectory of classical geometrical optics. Our measur…
In the (super)twistor formulation of massless (super)particle mechanics, the mass-shell constraint is replaced by a "spin-shell" constraint from which the spin content can be read off. We extend this formalism to massive (super)particles (with N-extended spacetime supersymmetry) in three and four space-time dimensions, explaining how the spin-shell constraints are related to spin, and we use it to prove equivalence of the massive N=1 and BPS-saturated N=2 superparticle actions. We also find the supertwistor form of the action for "spinning particles" with N-extended worldline supersymmetry, ma…
We analyze the possibility of description of D-dimensional massless particles by the Lagrangians linear on world-line curvatures k_i, {\cal S}=\sum_{i=1}^Nc_i\int k_i d{\tilde s}. We show, that the nontrivial classical solutions of this model are given by space-like curves with zero 2N-th curvature for N\leq[(D-2)/2]. Massless spinning particles correspond to the curves with constant k_{N+a}/k_{N-a} ratio. It is shown that only the system with action {\cal S}=c\int k_N d{\tilde s} leads to irreducible representation of Poincaré group. This system has maximally possible number (N+1) of gauge de…
A universal model for D=4 spinning particle is constructed with the configuration space chosen as ${\bf R}^{3,1}\times S^2$, where the sphere corresponds to the spinning degrees of freedom. The Lagrangian includes all the possible world--line first order invariants of the manifold. Each combination of the four constant parameters entering the Lagrangian gives the model, which describes the proper irreducible Poincaré dynamics both at the classical and quantum levels, and thereby the construction uniformly embodies the massive, massless and continuous helicity cases depending upon the special c…
We give an action for the massless spinning particle in pseudoclassical mechanics by using grassmann variables. The constructed action is invariant under $τ$-reparametrizations, local SUSY and O(N) transformations. After quantization, for the special case N=2, we get an action which describes the spin 0, 1 particles and topological sectors of the massless DKP theory. A SUSY formulation of the given model is also explored.
A consistent procedure of canonical quantization of pseudoclassical model for spin one relativistic particle is considered. Two approaches to treat the quantization for the massless case are discussed, the limit of the massive case and independent quantization of a modified action. Quantum mechanics constructed for the massive case proves to be equivalent to the Proca theory and for massless case to the Maxwell theory. Results obtained are compared with ones for the case of spinning (spin one half) particle.
We show that a two twistor phase space {à} priori describing two non localized massless and spinning particles may be decomposed into a product of three independent phase spaces: the (forward) cotangent bundle of the Minkowski space, the cotangent bundle to a circle (electric charge phase space) and the cotangent bundle to the real projective spinor space. Reduction of this 16 dimensional phase space with respect to two mutually commuting conformal scalars (the electric charge and the difference between the two helicities) produces a 12 dimensional extended relativistic phase space\cite{zak} d…
We make a critical comparison between ultra-high energy particle collisions around an extremal Kerr black hole and that around an over-spinning Kerr singularity, mainly focusing on the issue of the timescale of collisions. We show that the time required for two massive particles with the proton mass or two massless particles of GeV energies to collide around the Kerr black hole with Planck energy is several orders of magnitude longer than the age of the Universe for astro-physically relevant masses of black holes, whereas time required in the over-spinning case is of the order of ten million y…
We extend the perturbative double copy between radiating classical sources in gauge theory and gravity to the case of spinning particles. We construct, to linear order in spins, perturbative radiating solutions to the classical Yang-Mills equations sourced by a set of interacting color charges with chromomagnetic dipole spin couplings. Using a color-to-kinematics replacement rule proposed earlier by one of the authors, these solutions map onto radiation in a theory of interacting particles coupled to massless fields that include the graviton, a scalar (dilaton) $ϕ$ and the Kalb-Ramond axion fi…
