PHL744 Problem Set III Relativity Preliminaries and Dirac Equation in 2 dimensions

16 Feb 2014

Relativity Primer
1. A contravariant 4-vector has the oowing components in a frame S A = ). (A0 , A (a) When is the vector time like? (b) When is the vector null? (c) When is the vector space like? 2. What are its components in a frame moving wrt S with a speed V along (i) X-axis, (ii) Y-axis and (iii) Z-axis? 3. What are its components under (i) coordinate inversion (also called parity) and time reversal? 4. Suppose that A0 > 0 and the vector is time like. Show that A0 > 0 in every other inertial frame moving with uniform velosity wrt S . 5. Determine the covariant components of the vector, denoted by A . 6. What is the transformation law obeyed by the covariant vectors? 7. A rank (k, 0) tensor, A1 ,,k transforms as a product of k contravariant vectors. Write down explicitly the transformation formula for a tensor A if only A00 is nonvanishing in S . 8. Repeat the exercise for the covariant tensor A 9. Ditto for the mixed tensor A .

10. Show that if A is (symmetric) antisymmetric in one frame, it is so in every other frame. 1

11. Show that A is a scalar. Summation implicit.

Dirac equation in D = 2

The problems given below are about Dirac equation in 2+1 dimensions, unlike the real 3 + 1 case we are discussing in class. They help you understand the physics better and is also easier. They also have applications for graphene and massless particles in the real world. 1. Show that the standard Pauli matrices satisfy the anticommutatopn . relations required of alpha, 2. Construct positive and negative energy solutions with them. 3. What will be the angular momentum operator? 4. Verify that it commutes with the hamiltonian. 5. What is the angular momentum carried by the positive and negative energy states? 6. Construct the positron spinor for this case. 7. Write the equation in its covariant form by employing the corresponding matrices. 8. Construct the projection operators for positive and negative energy states. 9. Set up the hamiltonian for a charged particle in an external electromagnetic eld. Note: We have the scalar potential A0 and the vector potential which has only two components: Ax , Ay . 10. Do you get the factor g = 2 in this case?