Published August 20, 2010 | Version v1
Journal article

A spin Hamiltonian for non-relativistic electrons and their interaction with an external field

  • 1. Instituto de Fisica, Universidade Federal da Bahia, 40210-340, Salvador, Bahia (Brazil)
  • 2. Theoretical Physics Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2J1 (Canada)
  • 3. Instituto de Fisica Teorica, Universidade Estadual Paulista, 01140-070, Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

Description

We investigate the spin of the electron in a non-relativistic context by using the Galilean covariant Pauli-Dirac equation. From a non-relativistic Lagrangian density, we find an appropriate Dirac-like Hamiltonian in the momentum representation, which includes the spin operator in the Galilean covariant framework. Within this formalism, we show that the total angular momentum appears as a constant of motion. Additionally, we propose a non-minimal coupling that describes the Galilean interaction between an electron and the electromagnetic field. Thereby, we obtain, in a natural way, the Hamiltonian including all the essential interaction terms for the electron in a general vector field.

Availability note (English)

Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1751-8113/43/33/335304

Additional details

Identifiers

DOI
10.1088/1751-8113/43/33/335304;
PII
S1751-8113(10)47926-3;

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Journal of Physics. A, Mathematical and Theoretical (Online)
Journal Volume
43
Journal Issue
33
Journal Page Range
[10 p.]
ISSN
1751-8121