September 26, 2005
This paper surveys the application of geometric algebra to the physics of electrons. It first appeared in 1996 and is reproduced here with only minor modifications. Subjects covered include non-relativistic and relativistic spinors, the Dirac equation, operators and monogenics, the Hydrogen atom, propagators and scattering theory, spin precession, tunnelling times, spin measurement, multiparticle quantum mechanics, relativistic multiparticle wave equations, and semiclassical mechanics.
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February 16, 2006
Monogenic functions in the algebra of 5-dimensional spacetime have been used previously by the author as first principle in different areas of fundamental physics; the paper recovers that principle applying it to the hydrogen atom. The equation that results from the monogenic condition is formally equivalent to Dirac's and so its solutions resemble closely those found in the literature. The use of the monogenic condition as point of departure as not only the advantage of bein...
March 2, 2017
This article explores the geometric algebra of Minkowski spacetime, and its relationship to the geometric algebra of Euclidean 4-space. Both of these geometric algebras are algebraically isomorphic to the 2x2 matrix algebra over Hamilton's famous quaternions, and provide a rich geometric framework for various important topics in mathematics and physics, including stereographic projection and spinors, and both spherical and hyperbolic geometry. In addition, by identifying the ...
March 20, 2004
The relationship between spinors and Clifford (or geometric) algebra has long been studied, but little consistency may be found between the various approaches. However, when spinors are defined to be elements of the even subalgebra of some real geometric algebra, the gap between algebraic, geometric, and physical methods is closed. Spinors are developed in any number of dimensions from a discussion of spin groups, followed by the specific cases of $\text{U}(1)$, $\SU(2)$, and...
July 14, 2017
Using the language of the Geometric Algebra, we recast the massless Dirac bispinor as a set of Lorentz scalar, bivector, and pseudoscalar fields that obey a generalized form of Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism. The spinor's unusual 4-pi rotation symmetry is seen to be a mathematical artifact of the projection of these fields onto an abstract vector space, and not a physical property of the dynamical fields themselves. We also find a deeper understanding of the spin ang...
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In "Part I: Vector Analysis of Spinors", the author studied the geometry of two component spinors as points on the Riemann sphere in the geometric algebra of three dimensional Euclidean space. Here, these ideas are generalized to apply to four component Dirac spinors on the complex Riemann sphere in the complexified geometric algebra of spacetime, which includes Lorentz transformations. The development of generalized Pauli matrices eliminate the need for the traditional Dirac...
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April 1, 2005
In a recent publication the I showed how the geometric algebra ${G}_{4,1}$, the algebra of 5-dimensional space-time, can generate relativistic dynamics from the simple principle that only null geodesics should be allowed. The same paper showed also that Dirac equation could be derived from the condition that a function should be monogenic in that algebra; this construction of the Dirac equation allows a choice for the imaginary unit and it was suggested that different imagina...
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Dirac's leaping insight that the normalized anti-commutator of the {\gamma}^{\mu} matrices must equal the timespace signature {\eta}^{\mu}{\nu} was decisive for the success of his equation. The {\gamma}^{\mu}-s are the same in all Lorentz frames and "describe some new degrees of freedom, belonging to some internal motion in the electron". Therefore, the imposed link to {\eta}^{\mu}{\nu} constitutes a separate postulate of Dirac's theory. I derive a manifestly covariant first ...
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The presentation makes use of geometric algebra, also known as Clifford algebra, in 5-dimensional spacetime. The choice of this space is given the character of first principle, justified solely by the consequences that can be derived from such choice and their consistency with experimental results. Given a metric space of any dimension, one can define monogenic functions, the natural extension of analytic functions to higher dimensions; such functions have null vector derivat...
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This paper explores the use of geometric algebra to study the Galilean spacetime and its physical implications. The authors introduce the concept of geometric algebra and its advantages over tensor algebra for describing physical phenomena. They define the Galilean-spacetime algebra (GSTA) as a geometric algebra generated by a four-dimensional vector space with a degenerate metric. They show how the GSTA can be used to represent Galilean transformations, rotations, translatio...