English

Mass as a Relativistic Quantum Observable

Quantum Physics 2010-12-17 v2 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Abstract

A field state containing photons propagating in different directions has a non vanishing mass which is a quantum observable. We interpret the shift of this mass under transformations to accelerated frames as defining space-time observables canonically conjugated to energy-momentum observables. Shifts of quantum observables differ from the predictions of classical relativity theory in the presence of a non vanishing spin. In particular, quantum redshift of energy-momentum is affected by spin. Shifts of position and energy-momentum observables however obey simple universal rules derived from invariance of canonical commutators.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.quant-ph/9610004,
  title  = {Mass as a Relativistic Quantum Observable},
  author = {Marc-Thierry Jaekel and Serge Reynaud},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:quant-ph/9610004},
  year   = {2010}
}

Comments

5 pages, revised version