Advanced Quantum Mechanics, Notes based

on online course given by Leonard Susskind

- Lecture 10

Fermions and Dirac Equation

We did the second quantization for Bosons; now we will generalise it to cover Fermions. ie gener-
alise the multiple particle fields

Bosons
Two Bosons can go into the same state

Creation and annihilation operators all commute

If have particle 1 at position x and particle 2 at position y

|x, y > = | y, x>

Ψ† (x) Ψ† (y) |0> = |x,y>

Ψ† (y) Ψ† (x) |0> = |y,x>

So
Ψ† (x) Ψ† (y) - Ψ† (y) Ψ† (x) = 0 ie Ψ† (x) Ψ† (y) commute
[Ψ† (x), Ψ† (y)]=0

Fermions
Now look at the situation where if we have 2 particles and interchange them → wave function
changes sign

|x, y > = - | y, x>

Ψ† (x) Ψ† (y) |0> = |x,y>

Ψ† (y) Ψ† (x) |0> = - |y,x>

So
Ψ† (x) Ψ† (y) + Ψ† (y) Ψ† (x) = 0 ie Ψ† (x) Ψ† (y) anti-commute
{Ψ† (x), Ψ† (y)}=0

Generally, when you move from looking at Bosons to looking at Fermions you change from commuta-

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tion operators to anti-commutation operators

For Fermions you can’t have two particles in the same state since
{Ψ† (x), Ψ† (x)}= 2Ψ† (x),Ψ† (x)

For Bosons there is a clear mathematical distinction between creation and annihilation operators:
[a, a+ ]=1 [a+ , a]=-1 so if put [b,c]=1 would still know b was the annihilation and c the creation
operator. Creation operators can go on creating forever but annihilation will eventually hit zero.

For Fermions {a, a+ }=1 and {a+ , a}=1

so if you interchange them the algebra is the same; algebra doesn’t distinguish them.
In ground state for a Fermion can either have one particle or zero
Creation operator takes |0> → |1> if no particle there already, otherwise
|1> → 0
Annihilation |1> → |0> and |0> → 0
ie acting twice with either a creation or an annihilation operator gives 0 for a single state Fermion

So for Fermions the algebra is ths same. In a pure mathematical sense can interchange creation
and annihilation operators

Dirac Equation Review

∂ψ1 ∂ψ1
i ∂t
= -i ∂x
or Hψ1 =pψ1 for a relativistic massless particle moving right

Invent left moving species Hψ2 = - pψ2

ψ1
Combine the two species into → new degree of freedom ‘handedness’
ψ2
1 0
Introduce α = so can combine the equations and write
0 -1

ψ1 ψ
H =αp 1 giving us both directions
ψ2 ψ2

0 1
To introduce mass have further matrix β=
1 0

Now put
H = αp + βm where α2 =β2 =1 and αβ+βα=0

So H2 = α2 p2 + β2 m2 + (αβ+βα)pm = p2 + m2
This is correct for a relativistic particle with mass

0.23:48 Now in 3D

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px
Hψ = αpψ but now p= y so need something a bit different
p
pz

Try H = α.p = αx px + αy py + αz pz
Want to get H2 = p2x + py2 + p2z

(αx px + αy py + αz pz )(αx px + αy py + αz pz )=
α2x p2x + αy2 py2 + α2z p2z + αx px αy py + αy py αx px + αy py αz pz + αz pz αy py + αz pz αx px + αx px αz pz
= p2x + py2 + p2z If we have the following
α2x = αy2 = α2z =1 and {αx αy }={αy αz }={αz αx }=0

So need 3 matrices for the components of α that all anti-commute and that each square to 1

The 3 Pauli matrices do this

0 1
so put αx = σx =
1 0
0 -i
αy = σy =
i 0
1 0
αz = σ z =
0 -1

Energy is proportional to the component of spin along the direction of motion and so is always ±1

So H is either positive or negative according to the ±1 spin component

So have massless particle with positive or negative energy state

31:16 Look at Mass

Try H=σ.p + βm

H2 = (σ.p)2 + β2 m2 + px m(σx β + β σx ) + ...........

(σ.p)2 → p2 (as earlier)

Assume β2 =1 and want β to anti-commute with all the Pauli matrices

There is no 2x2 matrix or 3x3 matrix that fits the bill

But there are 4x4 matrices. Many equivalent representations; here is the Pauli representation:
α2x =αy2 =α2z =β2 =1 and {αx ,β}={αy ,β}={αz ,β}=0

σ 0
α= So,
0 -σ

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0 1 0 0
σ 0 1 0 0 0
αx = x =
0 -σx 0 0 0 -1
0 0 -1 0
0 -i 0 0
σy 0 i 0 0 0
αy = =
0 -σy 0 0 0 i
0 0 -i 0
1 0 0 0
σz 0 0 -1 0 0
αz = =
0 -σz 0 0 -1 0
0 0 0 1

1 0 0 0
I 0 0 1 0 0
β= =
0 -I 0 0 -1 0
0 0 0 -1

Putting these into H2 = (σ.p)2 + β2 m2 + px m(αx β + β σx ) + ...........

gives
H2 = p 2 + m 2

So we get mass for the Fermion from the coupling between the right and left spinning particles.

0.43.54 Helicity; when we looked at the original equation H=σ.p we found that if the particle has
positive energy then the particle has to be aligned with the momentum; but now we have added
another species whose energy is minus spin time the momentum. The other species has the oppo-
site ‘Chirality’.

Chirality is whether the particle has left handed or right handed spin with respect to momentum.
With the 2x2 matrices we were stuck with particles of one-handedness. We put the other matrix in
for other handedness and then coupled them together using the 4x4 matrices.

For massless particles the chirality is conserved

For particles with mass the off-diagonal elements in β mix the chirality → transitions

α is not actually the spin yet

Each of the 3 components (4x4 matrices) have two +1 eigenvalues and two -1 eigenvalues

The components eg αx and αy don’t commute so can only measure one at a time

Physical meaning is the velocity! ie the expectation value of α in any state is the velocity

Formula for time derivative of expectation value


<L> = i <[H,L]> ref (4.17) in the TM:Quantum Mechanics book

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
Can write as L = i [H,L]

So using this for our Dirac particle


x = i [H,x]
= i [α.p + βm,x]
= i α [p,x]
= αx (since α’s and β’s commute with x, only px doesn' t commute

So velocity is not proportional to momentum.

If you want to measure velocity then measure α; result must be ±1

α is not conserved as [H, αx ] ≠ 0 as H contains αy and αz which dont commute with αx → particle
accelerates, does crazy wobbly motion, Zitterbewegung but time average is p/m as you’d expect

σ 0 σ 0
α= Real spin is
0 -σ 0 σ

So Dirac discovered a multiplicity of states of the electron

- one to do with chirality (orientation of α with respect to momentum)
- one to do with the actual spin of the momentum

0.58.00 Now deal with Dirac particle having positive and negative energy
Go back to considering right moving, massless, one-dimensional electron

H=p (p can be positive or negative so H can be positive or negative too)

The ground state (vacuum) is not necessarily a state with no particles

Dirac took the definition of the vacuum to be ‘the state of lowest energy’

Can lower the energy by adding negative energy particles.

But for Fermions you cant put more than one in the same state; so once you have filled all the
available states you cant add any more and your vacuum is stable.

All the available states that can take negative energy particles are call the ‘Dirac Sea’

Given this state what can you change?

- Take a negative energy electron from the Dirac Sea → hole with ‘positive’ energy
A missing negative energy is equivalent to a positive energy. So starting with Dirac sea filled we
now have positive energy electrons and positive energy ‘holes’ (positrons).

So if a photon comes along and whacks an electron from the sea and puts it ‘upstairs’ leaving a hole

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it is like the following

convention has electron

as an 'up' arrow and
a positron as a 'down'
arrow

Field operators are built like the Boson field ones

∞
Ψ = ∫-∞ dp a- (p) e-ipx
∞ 0
=∫0 dp a- (p) e-ipx + ∫-∞ dp a- (p) e-ipx
where the first term is a positive momentum particle and the second term a negative momentum
particle

Since Fermion creation and annihilation operators anti-commute can also re-label
a- as the annihilation operator for an electron and b+ as the creation operator for the positiron

∞ 0
Ψ = ∫0 dp a- (p) e-ipx + ∫-∞ dp b+ (p) e+ipx

Would have term in the Hamiltonian like Ψ† (x) Ψ(x) A

Other combinations of creation and annihilation operators will give other terms that contribute
eg

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