Spin-orbit interaction and the Thomas precession: A comment on the lab frame point of view

American Journal of Physics

Volumn 69, Issue 5, 2001, Pages 554-556

  Muñoz, Gerardo ^a  

^a CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0035609082     PISSN: 00029505     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1119/1.1349541     Document Type: Review

References (31)

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4. W. K. H. Panofsky and M. Phillips. Classical Electricity and Magnetism (Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1962), 2nd ed.
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14. L. H. Thomas, "The Kinematics of an Electron with an Axis," Philos. Mag. 3, 1-22 (1927).
15. See Ref. 2, problem 11.27, p. 577.
16. A. O. Barut, Electrodynamics and Classical Theory of Fields and Particles (Dover, New York, 1980).
17. R. V. Krotkov, G. N. Pellegrini, N. C. Ford, and A. R. Swift, "Relativity and the electric dipole moment of a moving, conducting, magnetized sphere," Am. J. Phys. 67, 493-498 (1999).
18. R. Becker, Electromagnetic Fields and Interactions (Dover, New York, 1982).
19. S. Coleman and J. H. Van Vleck, "Origin of 'Hidden Momentum Forces' on Magnets," Phys. Rev. 171, 1370-1375 (1968).
20. L. Vaidman, "Torque and force on a magnetic dipole," Am. J. Phys. 58, 978-983 (1990); V. Hnizdo, "Comment on Torque and force on a magnetic dipole,' by L. Vaidman, [Am. J. Phys. 58, 978-983 (1990)]," ibid. 60, 279-280 (1992).
21. L. Vaidman, "Torque and force on a magnetic dipole," Am. J. Phys. 58, 978-983 (1990); V. Hnizdo, "Comment on Torque and force on a magnetic dipole,' by L. Vaidman, [Am. J. Phys. 58, 978-983 (1990)]," ibid. 60, 279-280 (1992).
22. L. Vaidman, "Torque and force on a magnetic dipole," Am. J. Phys. 58, 978-983 (1990); V. Hnizdo, "Comment on Torque and force on a magnetic dipole,' by L. Vaidman, [Am. J. Phys. 58, 978-983 (1990)]," ibid. 60, 279-280 (1992).
23. W. H. Furry, "Examples of Momentum Distributions in the Electromagnetic Field and in Matter," Am. J. Phys. 37, 621-636 (1969).
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25. E. Comay, "Exposing 'hidden momentum,'" Am. J. Phys. 64, 1028-1034 (1996).
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27. V. Hnizdo, "Hidden momentum and the electromagnetic mass of a charge and current carrying body," Am. J. Phys. 65, 55-65 (1997).
28. The effective torque appearing on the right-hand side of Eq. (12) was obtained by Namias for the special case of constant relative velocity using a magnetic charge model for the dipole. See V. Namias, "Electrodynamics of moving dipoles: The case of the missing torque," Am. J. Phys. 57, 171-177 (1989).
29. Of all the references in this paper, Barut's (see Ref. 16) derivation on pages 77-80 of the covariant equation of motion for the spin four-vector from a Lagrangian is the most satisfying from a theoretical perspective.
30. W. Pauli, Theory of Relativity (Pergamon, New York, 1958).
31. See, e.g., Ref. 4 and R. C. Tolman, Relativity, Thermodynamics, and Cosmology (Clarendon, Oxford, 1934). These authors do not write down the "hidden momentum" contribution explicitly.