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POSITION OPERATORS AND CENTER-OF-MASS: NEW PERSPECTIVES

Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, México, D.F., 04510, México

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C. CHRYSSOMALAKOS

Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, México, D.F., 04510, México

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H. HERNANDEZ CORONADO

Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, México, D.F., 04510, México

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, and

E. OKON

Instituto de Investigaciones Filosóficas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Mario de la Cueva s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, México, D.F., 04510, México

Corresponding author.

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https://doi.org/10.1142/S0217751X13501467Cited by:4 (Source: Crossref)

Abstract

After reviewing the work of Pryce on Center-of-Mass (CoM) definitions in special relativity, and that of Jordan and Mukunda on position operators for relativistic particles with spin, we propose two new criteria for a CoM candidate: associativity, and compatibility with the Poisson bracket structure. We find that they are not satisfied by all of Pryce's definitions, and they also rule out Dixon's CoM generalization to the curved space–time case. We also emphasize that the various components of the CoM position do not commute among themselves, in the general case, and thus provide a natural entry point to the arena of noncommutative space–time, without the ad-hoc assumptions of the standard paradigm.

Keywords:

PACS: 03.30.+p, 03.65.-w, 02.40.Gh

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