Dirac's Coupling to an electromagnetic field and schroedingers

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on deriving the Dirac equation for a particle in an electromagnetic (EM) field through the transformation of the wave function (psi). It confirms that similar calculations used for the Schrödinger equation can be applied to the Dirac Hamiltonian. The key transformation involves substituting the gradient operator with the expression del - iqA, where A represents the vector potential of the EM field. This gauge transformation is essential for incorporating EM interactions into quantum mechanical wave equations.

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  • Knowledge of gauge transformations in quantum physics
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g.bashyam
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hi
i just read this article,which discussed about getting the Schroedinger's equation for a particle in a em field by transforming the psi, http://www.vttoth.com/gauge.htm .can anyone please tell me if we can get the dirac's equation for a particle in a em field by transforming the psi
thanks in advance!
regards
bashyam govindhan
 
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As far as I know, the same calculations can be made for the Dirac Hamiltonian.
 
That webpage is a bit complicated. To put the EM interaction into any QM wave equation
(Schrödinger or Dirac) the substitution del-->del-iqA works.
The transformation of the psi is part of the gauge transformation which works if the form
del-iqA is used.
( gave up on the latex.)
 
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