par Antoniou, Ioannis ;Misra, Baidyawath
Référence International journal of theoretical physics, 31, 1, page (119-136)
Publication Publié, 1992-01
Article révisé par les pairs
Résumé : We construct a self-adjoint time operator for massless relativistic systems in terms of the generators of the Poincaré group. The Lie algebra generated by the time operator and the generators of the Poincaré group turns out to be an infinitedimensional extension of the Poincaré algebra. The internal time operator generates two new entities, namely the velocity operator and the internal position operator. The transformation properties of the internal time and position operator under Lorentz boosts are different from what one would expect from relativity theory. This difference reflects the fact that the time concept associated with the internal time operator is radically different from the time coordinate of Minkowski space, due to the nonlocality of the time operator. The spectral projections of the time operator allow us to construct incoming subspaces for the wave equation without invoking Huygens' principle, as in two and one spatial dimensions where Huygens' principle does not hold. © 1992 Plenum Publishing Corporation.