The Spinning Electron

The notion introduced by Ohanian that spin is a wave property is implemented, both in Dirac and in Schrödinger quantum mechanics. We find that half-integer spin is the consequence of azimuthal dependence in two of the four spinor components, relativistically and non-relativistically. In both cases...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: John Lekner
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Firenze University Press 2022-05-01
Series:Substantia
Subjects:
Online Access:https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/subs/article/view/1630
Description
Summary:The notion introduced by Ohanian that spin is a wave property is implemented, both in Dirac and in Schrödinger quantum mechanics. We find that half-integer spin is the consequence of azimuthal dependence in two of the four spinor components, relativistically and non-relativistically. In both cases the spinor components are free particle wavepackets; the total wavefunction is an eigenstate of the total angular momentum in the direction of net particle motion. In the non-relativistic case we make use of the Lévy-Leblond result that four coupled non-relativistic wave equations, equivalent to the Pauli-Schrödinger equation, represent particles of half-integer spin, with g-factor 2. An example of an exact Gaussian solution of the non-relativistic equations is illustrated.
ISSN:2532-3997