Quantum mechanics of Klein-Gordon fields. I: Hilbert space, localized states, and chiral symmetry (Q2503390)

The authors suggest to tackle the problem of the development of a consistent quantum theory for first-quantized free scalar fields by adopting the most general positive-defined and relativistic invariant inner product on the space of solutions of the corresponding Klein-Gordon (KG) equation \(\ddot{\psi}+D\,\psi =0\), where \(D= (mc/\hbar )^{2}-\nabla ^{2}\) and overdots stand for \(x^{0}\)-derivatives. In the light of results obtained by one of them in [\textit{A. Mostafazadeh}, Ann. Phys. 309, No. 1, 1--48 (2004; Zbl 1038.83012); Class. Quantum Gravity 20, No. 1, 155--171 (2003; Zbl 1039.83005); Int. J. Mod. Phys., A21, No. 12, 2553--2572 (2006; Zbl 1098.81056)], the authors thus endow the space of solutions to this equation with the inner product \(\left( \psi _{1},\psi _{2}\right) _{a}=\kappa [\,\left( \psi _{1},\psi _{2}\right) +a\,\left( \psi _{1},\psi _{2}\right) _{KG} ]\) where \(a\in (-1,1)\) is a constant parameter, \(\left( \psi _{1},\psi _{2}\right) =\frac{\hbar }{2mc}[\langle \psi _{1}| D^{1/2}\psi _{2}\rangle +\langle \dot{\psi}_{1}| D^{-1/2}\dot{\psi} _{2}\rangle ]\), \((\psi _{1},\psi _{2})_{KG}\) denotes the KG inner product, i.e. \((\psi _{1},\psi _{2})_{KG}=\frac{i\hbar }{2mc} [\langle \psi_{1}\,| \,\dot{\psi}_{2}\rangle - \langle \dot{\psi}_{1}\,| \psi _{2}\rangle ] \), and \(\langle f\,| g\rangle =\int_{\mathbb{R}^{3}}d^{3}\overrightarrow{x} \,f^{\ast }g\); \(\kappa\) is an unimportant positive constant. The existence of a one-parameter family of four-vector current densities \(J_{a}^{\mu }\) associated with the adopted inner product is proved. These currents, satisfying the continuity equation and yielding the Schrödinger probability density in non-relativistic limit, are found to be of the form \(J_{a}^{\mu }(x^0,\overrightarrow{x})=-\frac{i\kappa \hbar }{2mc} \psi^{\ast}(x^0,\overrightarrow{x})\,\overleftrightarrow{\partial ^{\mu }} \widetilde{\psi}_a(x^0,\overrightarrow{x})\), where \(\tilde{\psi}_a=iD^{-1/2}\dot{\psi} +a\psi \). They are analogous to the chiral current density for spin half fields. Next, authors determine the probability current density for the localization of a KG field in space and show how it relates to the current densities \(J^{\mu}_a\). In doing so, the Hilbert space, a proper ``position'' operator, and the position wave functions, are constructed and discussed according to guidelines expounded in the abovementioned articles. The authors also argue on the presence of an underlying symmetry associated with the conservation of the total probability of localization of fields in space. They remark that the conserved current is associated to a global gauge symmetry of the KG fields that is isomorphic to \(U(1)\) if the parameter \(a\) is a rational number and isomorphic to \(\mathbb{R}^{+}\) if \(a\) is irrational. Finally, the authors point out that results obtained for the free scalar fields case can be applied to the case of scalar fields minimally coupled to a time-independent magnetic field by simply replacing \(D\) with \(D_{q}=(mc/\hbar )^{2}-[\overrightarrow{\nabla }-iq \overrightarrow{A}\left( \overrightarrow{x}\right) ]^{2}\), where \(\overrightarrow{A }\left(\overrightarrow{x}\right)\) is the vector potential. Connections with other approaches to the subject are mentioned and five appendices are present to detail calculations. [For part II see the review below.]