The-Dirac-equation-in-Rindler-space：A-pedagogical-introduction.pdfVIP

The Dirac equation in Rindler space: A pedagogical introduction David McMahon Sandia National Laboratories Albuquerque, NM 87185 Email: dmmcmah@sandia.gov Paul M. Alsing Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 alsing@hpc.unm.edu Pedro Embid Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 December 28, 2005 Abstract A pedagogical introduction to the Dirac equation for massive particles in Rindler space is presented. The spin connection coefficients are explicitly derived using techniques from general relativity. We then apply the Lagrange-Green identity to greatly simplify calculation of the inner products needed to normalize the states. Finally, the Bogolubov coefficients relating the Rindler and Minkowski modes are derived in an intuitive manner. These derivations are useful for students interested in learning about quantum field theory in a curved space-time. 1 Introduction One of the most dramatic results in the early attempts to marry quantum field theory to general relativity was the discovery by Hawking that black holes radiate 1. This interesting result was soon followed by the discovery by Unruh 2 that a uniformly accelerated detector would be immersed in a bath of thermal radiation with temperature T ha / 2p , where a is the acceleration of the observer (k c 1). Moreover, an accelerated observer in flat space-time has