Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: We study the nonrelativistic limit of a paradigmatic model in relativistic quantum mechanics, the two-dimensional Dirac oscillator. Remarkably, we find a different kind of Zitterbewegung which persists in this nonrelativistic regime, and leads to an observable deformation of the particle orbit. This effect can be interpreted in terms of a Ramsey-interferometric phenomenon, allowing an insightful connection between relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum optics. Furthermore, subsequent corrections to the nonrelativistic limit, which account for the usual spin-orbit Zitterbewegung, can be neatly understood in terms of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer.
Source: Physical Review A
Authors: A. Bermudez, M. A. Martin-Delgado, A. Luis
Institution: Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Language: Latvian
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1967929728