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7 - Fields with spin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2012

Lowell S. Brown
Affiliation:
University of Washington
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Summary

Non-relativistic quantum states of any given angular momentum S can be built out of the direct product of spin ½ states. Suitable linear combinations of these product states can be formed to produce the irreducible representation of the rotation group which describes angular momentum S. In a similar fashion, relativistic quantum fields describing particles with spin S can be built out of spin ½ fields. We shall, therefore, dwell on the nature of spin ½ fields at some length. Moreover, it is the basic spin ½ field, the Weyl spinor, which is used in the modern electro-weak theory of weak interactions, and so these spinors will be discussed extensively with the more commonly known Dirac field related to them. Since the behavior of integer-spin fields, such as the spin-one photon field, is described by tensor fields that should be familiar, not much attention will be paid to them. Throughout this chapter, we shall work in our observable world of four dimensions. Higher dimensional spaces, however, are needed in the regularization procedure produced by dimensional continuation which we employ throughout this book. Moreover, there has been considerable theoretical speculation which involves higher-dimension space times. Much of the machinery for the extension to higher dimensions appears in the problems at the end of this chapter. The problems also deal with some of the peculiarities of a world with two space-time dimensions.

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Quantum Field Theory , pp. 354 - 419
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1992

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  • Fields with spin
  • Lowell S. Brown, University of Washington
  • Book: Quantum Field Theory
  • Online publication: 05 August 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511622649.008
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  • Fields with spin
  • Lowell S. Brown, University of Washington
  • Book: Quantum Field Theory
  • Online publication: 05 August 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511622649.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Fields with spin
  • Lowell S. Brown, University of Washington
  • Book: Quantum Field Theory
  • Online publication: 05 August 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511622649.008
Available formats
×