On the Majorana representation of the optical Dirac equation

Abstract We consider the representations of the optical Dirac equation, especially ones where the Hamiltonian is purely real-valued. This is equivalent, for Maxwell’s equations, to the Majorana representation of the massless Dirac (Weyl) equation. We draw analogies between the Dirac, chiral and Majo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of physics. A, Mathematical and theoretical Vol. 56; no. 2; pp. 24004 - 24016
Main Authors Dennis, Mark R, Tijssen, Teuntje, Morgan, Michael A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published IOP Publishing 13.01.2023
Subjects
classical fields
Majorana equation
optical polarization
wave mechanics
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Summary:Abstract We consider the representations of the optical Dirac equation, especially ones where the Hamiltonian is purely real-valued. This is equivalent, for Maxwell’s equations, to the Majorana representation of the massless Dirac (Weyl) equation. We draw analogies between the Dirac, chiral and Majorana representations of the Dirac and optical Dirac equations, and derive two new optical Majorana representations. Just as the Dirac and chiral representations are related to optical spin and helicity states, these Majorana representations of the optical Dirac equation are associated with the linear polarization of light. This provides a means to compare electron and electromagnetic wave equations in the context of classical field theory.
Bibliography:JPhysA-118119.R1
ISSN:1751-8113
1751-8121
DOI:10.1088/1751-8121/acb182