Putting Positrons into Classical Dirac Field Theory
- Creators
- Sebens, Charles T.
Abstract
One way of arriving at a quantum field theory of electrons and positrons is to take a classical theory of the Dirac field and then quantize. Starting with the standard classical field theory and quantizing in the most straightforward way yields an inadequate quantum field theory. It is possible to fix this theory by making some modifications (such as redefining the operators for energy and charge). Here I argue that we ought to make these modifications earlier, revising the classical Dirac field theory that serves as the starting point for quantization (putting positrons into that theory and removing negative energies). Then, quantization becomes straightforward. Also, the physics of the Dirac field is made more similar to the physics of the electromagnetic field and we are able to better understand electron spin.
Additional Information
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. Received 22 April 2019, Revised 12 September 2019, Accepted 9 October 2019, Available online 1 February 2020.Attached Files
Submitted - 1905.01773.pdf
Files
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 100423
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20191223-154016646
- Created
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2019-12-23Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-16Created from EPrint's last_modified field