In mathematical physics, the gamma matrices, , also known as the Dirac matrices, are a set of conventional matrices with specific anticommutation relations that ensure they generate a matrix representation of the Clifford algebraCℓ(1,3). It is also possible to define higher-dimensional Gamma matrices. When interpreted as the matrices of the action of a set of orthogonal basis vectors for contravariant vectors in Minkowski space, the column vectors on which the matrices act become a space of spinors, on which the Clifford algebra of space time acts. This in turn makes it possible to represent infinitesimal spatial rotations and Lorentz boosts. Spinors facilitate space-time computations in general, and in particular are fundamental to the Dirac equation for relativistic spin-½ particles.
Analogue sets of gamma matrices can be defined in any dimension and signature of the metric. For example the Pauli matrices are a set of "gamma" matrices in dimension 3 with metric of Euclidean signature (3,0).
Note that the other sign convention for the metric, (− + + +) necessitates a change in the defining equation:
so that under the alternative sign convention for the metric the covariant gamma matrices are defined by
.
Physical structure
The 4-tuple is often loosely described as a 4-vector (where e0 to e3 are the basis vectors of the 4-vector space). But this is misleading. Instead is more appropriately seen as a mapping operator, taking in a 4-vector and mapping it to the corresponding matrix in the Clifford algebra representation.
Slashed quantities like "live" in the multilinear Clifford algebra, with its own set of basis directions — they are immune to changes in the 4-vector basis.
On the other hand, one can define a transformation identity for the mapping operator . If is the spinor representation of an arbitrary Lorentz transformation, then we have the identity
This says essentially that an operator mapping from the old 4-vector basis to the old Clifford algebra basis is equivalent to a mapping from the new 4-vector basis to a correspondingly transformed new Clifford algebra basis . Alternatively, in pure index terms, it shows that transforms appropriately for an object with one contravariant4-vector index and one covariant and one contravariant Dirac spinor index.
Given the above transformation properties of , if is a Dirac spinor then the product transforms as if it were the product of a contravariant 4-vector with a Dirac spinor. In expressions involving spinors, then, it is often appropriate to treat as if it were simply a vector.
There remains a final key difference between and any nonzero 4-vector: does not point in any direction. More precisely, the only way to make a true vector from is to contract its spinor indices, leaving a vector of traces
This property of the gamma matrices is essential for them to serve as coefficients in the Dirac equation.
Expressing the Dirac equation
In natural units, the Dirac equation may be written as
where ψ is a Dirac spinor. Here, if were an ordinary 4-vector, then it would pick out a preferred direction in spacetime, and the Dirac equation would not be Lorentz invariant.
which is the Klein-Gordon equation. Thus, as the notation suggests, the Dirac particle has mass m.
The Fifth Gamma Matrix,
It is useful to define the product of the four gamma matrices as follows:
(in the Dirac basis).
Although uses the letter gamma, it is not one of the gamma matrices. The number 5 is a relic of old notation in which was called "".
has also an alternative form:
Proof
This can be seen by exploiting the fact that all the four gamma matrices anticommute, so
,
where is the generalized Kronecker symbol (completely antisymmetric tensor w.r.t upper and lower indices separately) in dimensions, which is the unit operator on 4-forms. If denotes the Levi-Civita symbol in n dimensions, we can use the property
to show the identity
.
Then we get
This matrix is useful in discussions of quantum mechanical chirality. For example, a Dirac field can be projected onto its left-handed and right-handed components by:
.
Some properties are:
It is hermitian:
Its eigenvalues are ±1, because:
It anticommutes with the four gamma matrices:
Identities
The following identities follow from the fundamental anticommutation relation, so they hold in any basis (although the last one depends on the sign choice for ).
Miscellaneous identities
Num
Identity
1
2
3
4
5
Proofs of 1 & 2
To show
one begins with the standard anticommutation relation
One can make this situation look similar by using the metric :
( symmetric)
(expanding)
(relabeling term on right)
To show
We again will use the standard commutation relation. So start:
Proof of 3
To show
Use the anticommutator to shift to the right
Using the relation we can contract the last two gammas, and get
Finally using the anticommutator identity, we get
Proof of 4
(anticommutator identity)
(using identity 3)
(raising an index)
(anticommutator identity)
(2 terms cancel)
Trace identities
Num
Identity
0
1
trace of any product of an odd number of is zero
2
3
4
5
Proving the above involves use of four main properties of the Trace operator:
tr(A + B) = tr(A) + tr(B)
tr(rA) = r tr(A)
tr(ABC) = tr(CAB) = tr(BCA)
Proof of 0
From the definition of the gamma matrices,
We get
or equivalently,
where is a number, and is a matrix.
(inserting the identity and using tr(rA) = r tr(A))
(from anti-commutation relation, and given that we are free to select )
(using tr(ABC) = tr(BCA))
(removing the identity)
This implies
Proof of 1
To show
First note that
We'll also use two facts about the fifth gamma matrix that says:
So lets use these two facts to prove this identity for the first non-trivial case: the trace of three gamma matrices. Step one is to put in one pair of 's in front of the three original 's, and step two is to swap the matrix back to the original position, after making use of the cyclicity of the trace.
This can only be fulfilled if
Proof of 2
To show
Begin with,
Proof of 3
For the term on the right, we'll continue the pattern of swapping with its neighbor to the left,
Again, for the term on the right swap with its neighbor to the left,
Eq (3) is the term on the right of eq (2), and eq (2) is the term on the right of eq (1). We'll also use identity number 2 to simplify terms like so:
So finally Eq (1), when you plug all this in information in gives
The terms inside the trace can be cycled, so
So really (4) is
or
Proof of 4
To show
,
begin with
(because )
(anti-commute the with )
(rotate terms within trace)
(remove 's)
Add to both sides of the above to see
.
Now, this pattern can also be used to show
.
Simply add two factors of , with different from and . Anticommute three times instead of once, picking up three minus signs, and cycle using the cyclic property of the trace.
So,
.
Proof of 5
For a proof of identity 5, the same trick still works unless is some permutation of (0123), so that all 4 gammas appear. The anticommutation rules imply that interchanging two of the indices changes the sign of the trace, so must be proportional to . The proportionality constant is , as can be checked by plugging in , writing out , and remembering that the trace of the identity is 4.
Normalisation
The gamma matrices can be chosen with extra hermicity conditions which are restricted
by the above anti commutation relations however. We can impose
, compatible with
and for the other gamma matrices (for k=1,2,3)
, compatible with
One checks immediately that these hermicity relations hold for the Dirac representation.
The above conditions can be combined in the relation
The hermicity conditions are not invariant under the action of a Lorentz transformation because is not a unitary transformation. This is intuitively clear because time and space are treated on unequal footing.
Feynman slash notation
The contraction of the mapping operator with a vector maps the vector out of the 4-vector representation.
So, it is common to write identities using the Feynman slash notation, defined by
Here are some similar identities to the ones above, but involving slash notation:
The gamma matrices we have written so far are appropriate for acting on Dirac spinors written in the Dirac basis; in fact, the Dirac basis is defined by these matrices. To summarize, in the Dirac basis:
Weyl basis
Another common choice is the Weyl or chiral basis, in which remains the same but is different, and so is also different:
The chiral projections take a slightly different form from the other Weyl choice:
In other words:
where and are the left-handed and right-handed
two-component Weyl spinors as before.
Majorana basis
There's also a Majorana basis, in which all of the Dirac matrices are imaginary and spinors are real. In terms of the Pauli matrices, it can be written as
The reason for making the gamma matrices imaginary is solely to obtain the particle physics metric (+,-,-,-) in which squared masses are positive. The Majorana representation however is real. One can factor out the to obtain a different representation with four component real spinors and real gamma matrices. The consequence of removing the is that the only possible metric with real gamma matrices is (-,+,+,+).
Dirac matrices on mathworld including their group properties
References
^Michio Kaku, Quantum Field Theory, ISBN 0-19-509158-2, appendix A
Halzen, Francis; Martin, Alan (1984). Quarks & Leptons: An Introductory Course in Modern Particle Physics. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN0-471-88741-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
A. Zee, Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell (2003), Princeton University Press: Princeton, New Jersey. ISBN 0-691-01019-6. See chapter II.1.
M. Peskin, D. Schroeder, An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory (Westview Press, 1995) [ISBN 0-201-50397-2] See chapter 3.2.