PHYSICS
SEMINAR
Rod
Armour
Department of Physics
Mercer University
Wednesday,
April 21, 2004
Willet Science Center 101
"Is
Matter a Form of Light?
Spin-1/2 Maxwell Fields and the Unification
of Electromagnetic and Matter Waves"
Abstract:
In their standard relativistic descriptions, electromagnetic waves and the
primary matter waves appear irreconcilably different. Foremost among these differences are the Lorentz transformation properties of their respective
field equations: covariance of the Maxwell equations traditionally requires a spin-1 Maxwell field while the primary matter fields are spin 1/2. However, in
a newly published result, we have seen that the Maxwell equations are in fact covariant under
both spin-1 and spin-1/2 Lorentz transformations. The spin-1 case has been known since Lorentz and Einstein,
but led by researchers here at Mercer the spin-1/2 case is only now being explored. The resulting spin-1/2 Maxwell field shares a significant set of
invariants with its spin-1 counterpart, although charge invariance, gauge invariance, and a covariant Lorentz force are lost in the spin-1/2 case. We
will discuss the spin-1/2 Maxwell field, its implications for relativistic field theory, and the possible unification of electromagnetic and spin-1/2
matter fields....
Please
join us for light refreshments outside WSC 109 at 4:15.
Mercer
Physics Seminar Homepage
Mercer
Physics Department