The quantum mechanical current of the Pauli equation

• Autor(a) principal: Nowakowski, Marek [UNESP]
• Data de Publicação: 1999
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNESP
• Texto Completo: http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.19149; http://hdl.handle.net/11449/224145

We argue that the process of constructing the quantum mechanical current of the Pauli equation by copying the line of argument used in the spin-0 case, i.e., the Schrödinger equation, is ambiguous. We show that a nonrelativistic reduction of the relativistic Dirac four-vector current is, however, capable of fully resolving the problem. This analysis reveals that the nonrelativistic current of the Pauli equation should include an extra term of the form ∇×(ψ†σψ). We present an initial exploration of the potential consequences of this new spin term by solving the Pauli equation for crossed magnetic and electric fields and calculating the corresponding current. © 1999 American Association of Physics Teachers.