Relativistic Theory of Polarization Phenomena

Abstract

A covariant form of the polarization formalism of Wolfenstein and Ashkin is developed. After the holetheory boundary conditions are incorporated, the theory may be transformed into a form in which the positive- and negative-energy components are separated. This form involves two-by-two matrices of the Pauli type and its similarity to the form of the nonrelativistic equations allows the relativistic contributions to be extracted. It is concluded that, with suitable interpretations, the nonrelativistic formalism may be used if an additional rotation of the polarization vector is added at each scattering. The relativistic forms of the Wolfenstein equations for various polarization parameters are then derived.