Circular Polarization and Quantum Spin: A Unified Real-Space Picture of Photons and Electrons

dc.creatorKadin, Alan M.
dc.date2005-08-07
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T06:13:19Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T06:13:19Z
dc.descriptionA classical circularly polarized electromagnetic wave carries angular momentum, and represents the classical limit of a photon, which carries quantized spin. It is shown that a very similar picture of a circularly polarized coherent wave can account for both the spin of an electron and its quantum wave function, in a Lorentz-invariant fashion. The photon-electron interaction occurs through the usual electromagnetic potentials, modulating the frequency and wavevector (energy and momentum) of this rotating spin field. Other quantum particles can also be represented either as rotating spin fields, or as composites of such fields. Taken together, this picture suggests an alternative interpretation of quantum mechanics based solely on coherent wave packets, with no point particles present.
dc.description14 pages, 2 tables, 1 figure
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0508064
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0508064
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/93065
dc.subjectQuantum Physics
dc.titleCircular Polarization and Quantum Spin: A Unified Real-Space Picture of Photons and Electrons
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