Electromagnetic Deflection of Spinning Particles

We show that it is possible to obtain self-consistent and physically acceptable relativistic classical equations of motion for a point-like spin-half particle possessing an electric charge and a magnetic dipole moment, directly from a manifestly covariant Lagrangian, if the classical degrees of free...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 1993-12
Main Authors: Costella, John P, McKellar, Bruce H J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Charged particles
Dipole moments
Equations of motion
Lorentz force
Magnetic dipoles
Mathematical analysis
Particle spin
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:We show that it is possible to obtain self-consistent and physically acceptable relativistic classical equations of motion for a point-like spin-half particle possessing an electric charge and a magnetic dipole moment, directly from a manifestly covariant Lagrangian, if the classical degrees of freedom are appropriately chosen. It is shown that the equations obtained encompass the well-tested Lorentz force and Thomas--Bargmann--Michel--Telegdi spin equations, as well as providing a definite specification of the classical _magnetic_dipole_ force_, whose exact form has been the subject of recent debate. Radiation reaction---the force and torque on an accelerated particle due to its self-interaction---is neglected at this stage.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.9312256