Why Dirac's equation the smallest possible matrices (2×2) are used?

smetuwh

smetuwh

Answered question

2022-09-28

Why Dirac's equation the smallest possible matrices ( 2 × 2) are used?

Answer & Explanation

dheasca8d

dheasca8d

Beginner2022-09-29Added 6 answers

One can write down equations for spin-one particles but they won't be the Dirac equation because the Dirac equation, by definition, describes spin-1/2 particles (i.e. fermions such as leptons and quarks). The equations for free fields associated with spin-one particles are the Maxwell equations (for photons etc.) and/or Proca equations (for W-bosons or Z-bosons).
sexiboi150nc

sexiboi150nc

Beginner2022-09-30Added 2 answers

Particles in the standard model are in principle massless and acquire mass through interactions via the Lagrangian. This poses a problem if you want to use the 3 × 3 matrix generators of angular momentum because massless particles have different lie group representations as particles with mass.
The 3 × 3 generators for particles of spin 1 acts on three states, 1 , 0 + 1. In the massless case only two states remain.
With fermions and the 2 × 2 SU( 2) matrices this issue doesn't exist. The two chiral components ψ L and b ± b 2 4 a c 2 a propagate lightlike and the two states of each chiral component correspond with spin up and down where the spin is parallel or anti parallel to the direction of propagation.

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