Fermion annihilation operators from position and momentum

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SUMMARY

Fermion annihilation operators cannot be expressed solely as functions of position and momentum in the same manner as boson annihilation operators. The discussion highlights that to derive the necessary anticommutation relations, one must utilize Grassmann numbers. The anticommutators for fermionic operators, such as {b, b} = 2b² = 0 and {b†, b†} = 2{b†}² = 0, demonstrate that these relations cannot be obtained from commuting variables alone.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of fermionic operators and their properties
  • Familiarity with Grassmann numbers and their applications
  • Knowledge of boson annihilation operators and their mathematical representation
  • Basic grasp of quantum mechanics and operator algebra
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  • Research the mathematical framework of Grassmann algebra
  • Study the derivation of anticommutation relations in quantum field theory
  • Explore the differences between bosonic and fermionic statistics
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Physicists, particularly those specializing in quantum mechanics and quantum field theory, as well as students and researchers interested in the mathematical foundations of fermionic systems.

haael
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Is it possible to express fermion annihilation operator as a function of position and momentum?

I've seen on Wikipedia the formula for boson annihilation operator:
[tex] \begin{matrix} a &=& \sqrt{m\omega \over 2\hbar} \left(x + {i \over m \omega} p \right) \\ a^{\dagger} &=& \sqrt{m \omega \over 2\hbar} \left( x - {i \over m \omega} p \right) \end{matrix}[/tex]

But what about fermions? Is it possible to get anticommutation relations from canonical relations alone, or is it necessary to postulate something else?
 
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haael said:
But what about fermions? Is it possible to get anticommutation relations from canonical relations alone, or is it necessary to postulate something else?
You have to use Grassmann numbers or something like that. This can be seen by inspection of the (fermionic) anti-commutators

[tex]\{b, b\} = 2b^2 = 0[/tex]
[tex]\{b^\dagger, b^\dagger\} = 2{b^\dagger}^2 = 0[/tex]

which cannot be derived from commuting objects.
 

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