arXiv subjects

William M. Pezzaglia Jr.

Publications and source records attributed to William M. Pezzaglia Jr..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2001

Generalized Fierz Identities and the Superselection Rule for Geometric Multispinors

The inverse problem, to reconstruct the general multivector wave function from the observable quadratic densities, is solved for 3D geometric algebra. It is found that operators which are applied to the right side of the wave function must be considered, and the standard Fierz identities do not necessarily hold except in restricted situations, corresponding to the spin-isospin superselection rule. The Greider idempotent and Hestenes quaterionic spinors are included as extreme cases of a single superselection parameter.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1997

Should Metric Signature Matter in Clifford Algebra Formulations of Physical Theories?

Standard formulation is unable to distinguish between the (+++-) and (---+) spacetime metric signatures. However, the Clifford algebras associated with each are inequivalent, R(4) in the first case (real 4 by 4 matrices), H(2) in the latter (quaternionic 2 by 2). Multivector reformulations of Dirac theory by various authors look quite inequivalent pending the algebra assumed. It is not clear if this is mere artifact, or if there is a right/wrong choice as to which one describes reality. However, recently it has been shown that one can map from one signature to the other using a "tilt transformation" [see P. Lounesto, "Clifford Algebras and Hestenes Spinors", Found. Phys. 23, 1203-1237 (1993)]. The broader question is that if the universe is signature blind, then perhaps a complete theory should be manifestly tilt covariant. A generalized multivector wave equation is proposed which is fully signature invariant in form, because it includes all the components of the algebra in the wavefunction (instead of restricting it to half) as well as all the possibilities for interaction terms.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1996

Polydimensional Relativity, a Classical Generalization of the Automorphism Invariance Principle

The automorphism invariant theory of Crawford[J. Math. Phys. 35, 2701 (1994)] has show great promise, however its application is limited by the paradigm to the domain of spin space. Our conjecture is that there is a broader principle at work which applies even to classical physics. Specifically, the laws of physics should be invariant under polydimensional transformations which reshuffle the geometry (e.g. exchanges vectors for trivectors) but preserves the algebra. To complete the symmetry, it follows that the laws of physics must be themselves polydimensional, having scalar, vector, bivector etc. parts in one multivector equation. Clifford algebra is the natural language in which to formulate this principle, as vectors/tensors were for relativity. This allows for a new treatment of the relativistic spinning particle (the Papapetrou equations) which is problematic in standard theory. In curved space the rank of the geometry will change under parallel transport, yielding a new basis for Weyl's connection and a natural coupling between linear and spinning motion.

gr-qc↗