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A. Shadi Tahvildar-Zadeh

Publications and source records attributed to A. Shadi Tahvildar-Zadeh.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Asymptotic Momentum of Dirac Particles in One Space Dimension

We analyze the trajectories of a massive particle in one space dimension whose motion is guided by a spin-half wave function that evolves according to the free Dirac equation, with its initial wave function being a Gaussian wave packet with a nonzero expected value of momentum $k$. We prove that at large times, the wave function is approximately equal to the superposition of two wave packets traveling in opposite directions, which results in trajectories with approximately constant asymptotic momentum $k$ and asymptotic energy $\pm c^2\sqrt{m^2+k^2}$, with $m$ the rest mass of the particle and $c$ the speed of light. The sign of the asymptotic energy is determined by the initial position of the particle. Particles with negative energy will have an asymptotic velocity that is in the opposite direction of their momentum. The proof uses the stationary phase approximation method, for which we establish a rigorous error bound.

math-ph↗
arXiv2025

Noetherian Conservation Laws for Photons

We review the formulation of a Lorentz-covariant bispinorial wave function and wave equation for a single photon on a flat background. We show the existence of a 10-dimensional set of conservation laws for this equation, and prove that 8 of these can be used to obtain global, gauge-invariant, ADM-like quantities that together define a covariantly constant self-dual bispinor.

math-ph↗
arXiv2025

On the discrete Dirac spectrum of general-relativistic hydrogenic ions with anomalous magnetic moment

The Reissner-Weyl-Nordström (RWN) spacetime of a point nucleus features a naked singularity for the empirically known nuclear charges $Ze$ and masses $M = A(Z,N)m_{\mathrm{p}}$, where $m_{\mathrm{p}}$ is the proton mass and $A(Z,N)\approx Z+N$ the atomic mass number, with $Z$ the number of protons and $N$ the number of neutrons in the nucleus. The Dirac Hamiltonian for a test electron with mass $m_{\mathrm{e}}$, charge $-e$, and anomalous magnetic moment $μ_a (\approx - \frac{1}{4π}\frac{e^3}{m_{\mathrm{e}} c^2})$ in the electrostatic RWN spacetime of such a 'naked point nucleus' is known to be essentially self-adjoint, with a spectrum that consists of the union of the essential spectrum $(-\infty, m_{\mathrm{e}} c^2]\cup[m_{\mathrm{e}} c^2, \infty)$ and a discrete spectrum of infinitely many eigenvalues in the gap $(-m_{\mathrm{e}} c^2,m_{\mathrm{e}} c^2)$, having $m_{\mathrm{e}} c^2$ as accumulation point. In this paper the discrete spectrum is characterized in detail for the first time, for all $Z\leq 45$ and $A$ that cover all known isotopes. The eigenvalues are mapped one-to-one to those of the traditional Dirac Hydrogen spectrum. Numerical evaluations that go beyond $Z=45$ into the realm of not-yet-produced hydrogenic ions are presented, too. A list of challenging open problems concludes this publication.

math-ph↗
arXiv2024

On the relativistic quantum mechanics of a photon between two electrons in 1+1 dimensions

A Lorentz-covariant system of wave equations is formulated for a quantum-mechanical three-body system in one space dimension, comprised of one photon and two identical massive spin one-half Dirac particles, which can be thought of as two electrons (or alternatively, two positrons). Manifest covariance is achieved using Dirac's formalism of multi-time wave functions, i.e, wave functions $Ψ(\textbf{x}_{\text{ph}},\textbf{x}_{\text{e}_1},\textbf{x}_{\text{e}_2})$ where $\textbf{x}_{\text{ph}},\textbf{x}_{\text{e}_1},\textbf{x}_{\text{e}_2}$ are generic spacetime events of the photon and two electrons respectively. Their interaction is implemented via a Lorentz-invariant no-crossing-of-paths boundary condition at the coincidence submanifolds $\{\textbf{x}_{\text{ph}}=\textbf{x}_{\text{e}_1}\}$ and $\{\textbf{x}_{\text{ph}}=\textbf{x}_{\text{e}_2}\}$ compatible with conservation of probability current. The corresponding initial-boundary value problem is shown to be well-posed, and it is shown that the unique solution can be represented by a convergent infinite sum of Feynman-like diagrams, each one corresponding to the photon bouncing between the two electrons a fixed number of times.

math-ph↗
arXiv2024

One-dimensional hydrogenic ions with screened nuclear Coulomb field

We study the spectrum of the Dirac hamiltonian in one space dimension for a single electron in the electrostatic potential of a point nucleus, in the Born-Oppenheimer approximation where the nucleus is assumed fixed at the origin. The potential is screened at large distances so that it goes to zero exponentially at spatial infinity. We show that the hamiltonian is essentially self-adjoint, the essential spectrum has the usual gap $(-mc^2,mc^2)$ in it, and that there are only finitely many eigenvalues in that gap, corresponding to ground and excited states for the system. We find a one-to-one correspondence between the eigenfunctions of this hamiltonian and the heteroclinic saddle-saddle connectors of a certain dynamical system on a finite cylinder. We use this correspondence to study how the number of bound states changes with the nuclear charge.

math-ph↗
arXiv2024

Joint evolution of a Lorentz-covariant massless scalar field and its point-charge source in one space dimension

In this paper we prove that the static solution of the Cauchy problem for a massless real scalar field that is sourced by a point charge in $1+1$ dimensions is asymptotically stable under perturbation by compactly-supported radiation. This behavior is due to the process of back-reaction. Taking the approach of Kiessling, we rigorously derive the expression for the force on the particle from the principle of total energy-momentum conservation. We provide a simple, closed form for the particle's self-action, and show that it is restorative in this model , i.e. proportional to negative velocity, and causes the charge to return to rest after the radiation passes through. We establish these results by studying the joint evolution problem for the particle-scalar field system, and proving its global well-posedness and the claimed asymptotic behavior.

math.AP↗
arXiv2023

Detection time of Dirac particles in one space dimension

We consider particles emanating from a source point inside an interval in one-dimensional space and passing through detectors situated at the endpoints of the interval that register their arrival time. Unambiguous measurements of arrival or detection time are problematic in the orthodox narratives of quantum mechanics, since time is not a self-adjoint operator. By contrast, the arrival time at the boundary of a particle whose motion is being guided by a wave function through the deBroglie-Bohm guiding law is well-defined and unambiguous, and can be computationally feasible provided the presence of detectors can be modeled in an effective way that does not depend on the details of their makeup. We use an absorbing boundary condition for Dirac's equation (ABCD) proposed by Tumulka, which is meant to simulate the interaction of a particle initially inside a domain with the detectors situated on the boundary of the domain. By finding an explicit solution, we prove that the initial-boundary value problem for Dirac's equation satisfied by the wave function is globally well-posed, the solution inherits the regularity of the initial data, and depends continuously on it. We then consider the case of a pair of particles emanating from the source inside the interval, and derive explicit formulas for the distribution of first arrival times at each detector, which we hope can be used to study issues related to non-locality in this setup.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2023

Covariant Guiding Laws for Fields

After reviewing what is known about the passage from the classical Hamilton--Jacobi formulation of non-relativistic point-particle dynamics to the non-relativistic quantum dynamics of point particles whose motion is guided by a wave function that satisfies Schrödinger's or Pauli's equation, we study the analogous question for the Lorentz-covariant dynamics of fields on spacelike slices of spacetime. We establish a relationship, between the DeDonder--Weyl--Christodoulou formulation of covariant Hamilton--Jacobi equations for the classical field evolution, and the Lorentz-covariant Dirac-type wave equation proposed by Kanatchikov amended by our proposed guiding equation for such fields. We show that Kanatchikov's equation is well-posed and generally solvable, and we establish the correspondence between plane-wave solutions of Kanatchikov's equation and solutions of the covariant Hamilton--Jacobi equations of DeDonder--Weyl--Christodoulou. We propose a covariant guiding law for the temporal evolution of fields defined on constant time slices of spacetime, and show that it yields, at each spacetime point, the existence of a finite measure on the space of field values at that point that is equivariant with respect to the flow induced by the solution of Kanatchikov's equation that is guiding the actual field, so long as it is a plane-wave solution. We show that our guiding law is local in the sense of Einstein's special relativity, and therefore it cannot be used to analyze Bell-type experiments. We conclude by suggesting directions to be explored in future research.

math-ph↗
arXiv2023

On the Joint Evolution Problem for a Scalar Field and its Singularity

In the classical electrodynamics of point charges in vacuum, the electromagnetic field, and therefore the Lorentz force, is ill-defined at the locations of the charges. Kiessling resolved this problem by using the momentum balance between the field and the particles, extracting an equation for the force that is well-defined where the charges are located, so long as the field momentum density is locally integrable in a neighborhood of the charges. In this paper, we examine the effects of such a force by analyzing a simplified model in one space dimension. We study the joint evolution of a massless scalar field together with its singularity, which we identify with the trajectory of a particle. The static solution arises in the presence of no incoming radiation, in which case the particle remains at rest forever. We will prove the stability of the static solution for particles with positive bare mass by showing that a pulse of incoming radiation that is compactly supported away from the point charge will result in the particle eventually coming back to rest. We will also prove the nonlinear instability of the static solution for particles with negative bare mass by showing that an incoming radiation with arbitrarily small amplitude will cause the particle to reach the speed of light in finite time. We conclude by discussing modifications to this simple model that could make it more realistic.

math-ph↗
arXiv2021

On the discrete Dirac spectrum of a point electron in the zero-gravity Kerr-Newman spacetime

The discrete spectrum of the Dirac operator for a point electron in the maximal analytically extended Kerr--Newman spacetime is determined in the zero-$G$ limit (z$G$KN), under some restrictions on the electrical coupling constant and on the radius of the ring-singularity of the z$G$KN spacetime. The spectrum is characterized by a triplet of integers, associated with winding numbers of orbits of dynamical systems on cylinders. A dictionary is established that relates the spectrum with the known hydrogenic Dirac spectrum. Numerical illustrations are presented. Open problems are listed.

math-ph↗
arXiv2021

Weak second Bianchi identity for static, spherically symmetric spacetimes with timelike singularities

The (twice-contracted) second Bianchi identity is a differential curvature identity that holds on any smooth manifold with a metric. In the case when such a metric is Lorentzian and solves Einstein's equations with an (in this case inevitably smooth) energy-momentum-stress tensor of a "matter field" as the source of spacetime curvature, this identity implies the physical laws of energy and momentum conservation for the "matter field". The present work inquires into whether such a Bianchi identity can still hold in a weak sense for spacetimes with curvature singularities associated with timelike singularities in the "matter field". Sufficient conditions that establish a distributional version of the twice-contracted second Bianchi identity are found. In our main theorem, a large class of spherically symmetric static Lorentzian metrics with timelike one-dimensional singularities is identified, for which this identity holds. As an important first application we show that the well-known Reissner-Weyl-Nordström spacetime of a point charge does not belong to this class, but that Hoffmann's spacetime of a point charge with negative bare mass in the Born-Infeld electromagnetic vacuum does.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2021

On the Dirac operator for a test electron in a Reissner--Weyl--Nordström black hole spacetime

The present paper studies the Dirac Hamiltonian of a test electron with a domain of bi-spinor wave functions supported on the static region inside the Cauchy horizon of the subextremal RWN black hole spacetime, respectively inside the event horizon of the extremal RWN black hole spacetime. It is found that this Dirac Hamiltonian is not essentially self-adjoint, yet has infinitely many self-adjoint extensions. Including a sufficiently large anomalous magnetic moment interaction in the Dirac Hamiltonian restores essential self-adjointness; the empirical value of the electron's anomalous magnetic moment is large enough. The spectrum of the subextremal self-adjoint Dirac operator with anomalous magnetic moment is purely absolutely continuous and consists of the whole real line; in particular, there are no eigenvalues. The same is true for the spectrum of any self-adjoint extension of the Dirac operator without anomalous magnetic moment interaction, in the subextremal black hole context. In the extremal black hole sector the point spectrum, if non-empty, consists of a single eigenvalue, which is identified.

math-ph↗
arXiv2020

A Lorentz-Covariant Interacting Electron-Photon System in One Space Dimension

A Lorenz-covariant system of wave equations is formulated for a quantum-mechanical two-body system in one space dimension, comprised of one electron and one photon. Manifest Lorentz covariance is achieved using Dirac's formalism of multi-time wave functions, i.e., wave functions $Ψ(\mathbf{x}_{ph},\mathbf{x}_{el})$ where $\mathbf{x}_{el},\mathbf{x}_{ph}$ are the generic spacetime events of the electron and photon, respectively. Their interaction is implemented via a Lorentz-invariant no-crossing-of-paths boundary condition at the coincidence submanifold $\{\mathbf{x}_{el}=\mathbf{x}_{ph}\}$, compatible with particle current conservation. The corresponding initial-boundary-value problem is proved to be well-posed. Electron and photon trajectories are shown to exist globally in a Hypersurface Bohm--Dirac theory, for typical particle initial conditions. Also presented are the results of some numerical experiments which illustrate Compton scattering as well as a new phenomenon: photon capture and release by the electron.

math-ph↗
arXiv2020

On general-relativistic hydrogen and hydrogenic ions

This paper studies how the static non-linear electromagnetic-vacuum spacetime of a point nucleus with negative bare mass affects the self-adjointness of the general-relativistic Dirac Hamiltonian for a test electron, without and with an anomalous magnetic moment. The study interpolates between the previously studied extreme cases of a test electron in (a) the Reissner--Weyl--Nordström spacetime (Maxwell's electromagnetic vacuum), which supports a very strong curvature singularity with negative infinite bare mass, and (b) the Hoffmann spacetime (Born or Born--Infeld's electromagnetic vacuum) with vanishing bare mass, which features the mildest possible curvature singularity. The main conclusion reached is: {on electrostatic spacetimes of a point nucleus with a strictly negative bare mass} (which may be $-\infty$) essential self-adjointness fails unless the radial electric field diverges sufficiently fast at the nucleus and the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron is taken into account. Thus on the Hoffmann spacetime with (strictly) negative bare mass the Dirac Hamiltonian of a test electron, with or without anomalous magnetic moment, is not essentially self-adjoint. All these operators have self-adjoint extensions, though, with the usual essential spectrum $(-\infty,-\mEL c^2]\cup[\mEL c^2,\infty)$ and an infinite discrete spectrum located in the gap $(-\mEL c^2,\mEL c^2)$

math-ph↗
arXiv2019

The Einstein-Infeld-Hoffmann legacy in mathematical relativity. Part I: The classical motion of charged point particles

Einstein, Infeld, and Hoffmann (EIH) claimed that the field equations of general relativity theory alone imply the equations of motion of neutral matter particles, viewed as point singularities in space-like slices of spacetime; they also claimed that they had generalized their results to charged point singularities. While their analysis falls apart upon closer scrutiny, the key idea merits our attention. This rapport identifies necessary conditions for a well-defined general-relativistic joint initial value problem of $N$ classical point charges and their electromagnetic and gravitational fields. Among them, in particular, is the requirement that the electromagnetic vacuum law guarantees a finite field energy-momentum of a point charge. This disqualifies the Maxwell(--Lorentz) law used by EIH. On the positive side, if the electromagnetic vacuum law of Bopp, Landé--Thomas, and Podolsky (BLTP) is used, and the singularities equipped with a non-zero bare rest mass, then a joint initial value problem can be formulated in the spirit of the EIH proposal, and shown to be locally well-posed --- \emph{in the special-relativistic zero-$G$ limit}. With gravitational coupling (i.e. $G>0$), though, changing Maxwell's into the BLTP law and assigning a bare rest mass to the singularities is by itself not sufficient to obtain even a merely well-defined joint initial value problem: the gravitational coupling also needs to be changed, conceivably in the manner of Jordan and Brans--Dicke.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2018

On the Quantum-Mechanics of a Single Photon

It is shown that a Dirac(-type) equation for a rank-two bi-spinor field on Minkowski (configuration) spacetime furnishes a Lorentz-covariant quantum-mechanical wave equation in position-space representation for a single free photon. This equation does not encounter any of the roadblocks that have obstructed previous attempts (by various authors) to formulate a {quantum-mechanical} photon wave equation. In particular, it implies that the photon wave function yields conserved non-negative Born-rule-type quantum probabilities, and that its probability current density four-vector transforms properly under Lorentz transformations. Moreover, the eigenvalues of the pertinent photon Dirac Hamiltonian and the vector eigenvalues of the photon momentum operator yield the familiar Einstein relations $E=\hbarω$ and ${\bf p}=\hbar{\bf k}$, respectively. Furthermore, these spin-1 wave modes are automatically transversal without the need of an additional constraint on the initial data. Some comments on other proposals to set up a photon wave equation are supplied as well.

math-ph↗