Related papers: Lorentz boosts and Wigner rotations: self-adjoint …
Quaternions have an (over a century-old) extensive and quite complicated interaction with special relativity. Since quaternions are intrinsically 4-dimensional, and do such a good job of handling 3-dimensional rotations, the hope has always…
It is possible to associate two angles with two successive non-collinear Lorentz boosts. If one boost is applied after the initial boost, the result is the final boost preceded by a rotation called the Wigner rotation. The other rotation is…
We report the simplest possible form to compute rotations around arbitrary axis and boosts in arbitrary directions for 4-vectors (space-time points, energy-momentum) and bi-vectors (electric and magnetic field vectors) by symplectic…
The algebra of fourvectors is described. The fourvectors are more appropriate than the Hamilton quaternions for its use in Physics and the sciences in general. The fourvectors embrace the 3D vectors in a natural form. It is shown the…
Explicit formulae for the $4\times 4$ Lorentz transformation matrices corresponding to a pure boost and a pure three-dimensional rotation are very well-known. Significantly less well-known is the explicit formula for a general Lorentz…
This paper describes a particularly didactic and transparent derivation of basic properties of the Lorentz group. The generators for rotations and boosts along an arbitrary direction, as well as their commutation relations, are written as…
It is well known that a sequence of two non-collinear pure Lorentz transformations (boosts) is not a boost again, but involves a spatial rotation, the Wigner or Thomas-Wigner rotation. The formation of this rotation is visually illustrated…
By using complex quaternion, which is the system of quaternion representation extended to complex numbers, we show that the laws of electromagnetism can be expressed much more simply and concisely. We also derive the quaternion…
Using spacetime algebra, the geometric algebra of spacetime, the general problem of relativistic addition of velocities is addressed. The successive application of non-collinear Lorentz boosts is then studied in Minkowski spacetime. Even…
Because of its apparent complexity, the discussion of Wigner rotation is usually reduced to the study of Thomas precession, which is too specific a case to allow a deep understanding of boost composition. However, by simple arguments and…
The Wigner rotation is a key word in many branches of physics, chemistry and engineering sciences. It is a group theoretical effect resulting from two Lorentz boosts. The net effect is one boost followed or preceded by a rotation. This…
In this work we analyze the amount of entanglement associated with the spin and momentum degrees of freedom of a single massive spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ particle from a relativistic perspective. The effect of a Lorentz boost introduces a Wigner…
The ordered addition of two Lorentz boosts is normally shown to result in a boost by utilizing concepts from group theory and non-Euclidian geometry. We present a method for achieving this addition by performing a sequence of spatial…
Rotations on the 3-dimensional Euclidean vector-space can be represented by real quaternions, as was shown by Hamilton. Introducing complex quaternions allows us to extend the result to elliptic and hyperbolic rotations on the Minkowski…
We reconsider velocity addition/subtraction in Special Relativity and re-derive its well-known non-commutative and non-associative algebraic properties in a self contained way, including various explicit expressions for the Thomas angle,…
The Inonu-Wigner contraction is applied to special relativity and the little groups of the Lorentz group. If the O(3) symmetry group for massive particle is boosted to an infinite-momentum frame, it becomes contracted to a combination of…
We present the ``algebrodynamical'' approach to field-particle theory based on a nonlinear generalization of the Cauchy-Riemann conditions to non-commutative algebras of quaternion-like type. For complex quaternions the theory is Lorentz…
We present a didactic derivation of the special theory of relativity in which Lorentz transformations are `discovered' as symmetry transformations of the Klein-Gordon equation. The interpretation of Lorentz boosts as transformations to…
The Lorentz transformation is entirely derived from length contraction, itself established through the known light-clock thought experiment . This makes the derivation accessible to beginning students once Eintein's two postulates have been…
Using a left multiplication defined on a right quaternionic Hilbert space, linear self-adjoint momentum operators on a right quaternionic Hilbert space are defined in complete analogy with their complex counterpart. With the aid of the…