Wigner translations and the observer dependence of the position of massless spinning particles

Michael Stone, Vatsal Dwivedi, Tianci Zhou

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The Wigner little group for massless particles is isomorphic to the Euclidean group SE(2). Applied to momentum eigenstates, or to infinite plane waves, the Euclidean "Wigner translations" act as the identity. We show that when applied to finite wave packets, the translation generators move the packet trajectory parallel to itself through a distance proportional to the particle's helicity. We relate this effect to the spin Hall effect of light and to the Lorentz-frame dependence of the position of a massless spinning particle.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number210402
JournalPhysical review letters
Volume114
Issue number21
DOIs
StatePublished - May 27 2015

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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