TY - JOUR
T1 - Zitterbewegung of a Free Localized Dirac Particle
AU - Lock, James A.
N1 - Lock, James A. "Zitterbewegung of a Free Localized Dirac Particle." emAmerican Journal of Physics/em 47 (1979): 797-802.
PY - 1979/9/1
Y1 - 1979/9/1
N2 - Much of the lore of the Zitterbewegung of a free Dirac particle is found to need revision for the situation when the particle is initially localized. We find that in this case the rapid violent oscillations of angular frequency ∠2mc2/h□ in the average position of the particle are a transient rather than sustained phenomenon. Instead, the Zitterbewegung is manifested by a growth in the size of the particle but this growth is many orders of magnitude smaller than h□/mc, the magnitude usually quoted. This behavior is contrasted with that of the Foldy-Wouthuysen position for which the Zitterbewegung is absent. Finally, the applicability of these ideas to the situation of a localized Dirac particle in an external field is commented on.
AB - Much of the lore of the Zitterbewegung of a free Dirac particle is found to need revision for the situation when the particle is initially localized. We find that in this case the rapid violent oscillations of angular frequency ∠2mc2/h□ in the average position of the particle are a transient rather than sustained phenomenon. Instead, the Zitterbewegung is manifested by a growth in the size of the particle but this growth is many orders of magnitude smaller than h□/mc, the magnitude usually quoted. This behavior is contrasted with that of the Foldy-Wouthuysen position for which the Zitterbewegung is absent. Finally, the applicability of these ideas to the situation of a localized Dirac particle in an external field is commented on.
UR - https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/sciphysics_facpub/109
UR - http://aapt.scitation.org/doi/10.1119/1.11697
U2 - 10.1119/1.11697
DO - 10.1119/1.11697
M3 - Article
VL - 47
JO - American Journal of Physics
JF - American Journal of Physics
ER -