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A Killing spinor on a Riemannian spin manifold M is a spinor field ψ which satisfies

∇_Xψ = λX ⋅ ψ
for all tangent vectors X, where ∇ is the spinor covariant derivative, ⋅ is Clifford multiplication and λ ∈ C is a constant, called the Killing number of ψ. If λ=0 then the spinor is called a parallel spinor.
I have been told that somehow for M=S² the equation reduces to ∇_μ ψ = ± 1 / 2 γ_μ ψ where we have introduced the 2d-Clifford algebra. How does one go about deriving this expression?

User Bezzoon
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Final answer:

The Killing spinor equation for a special case on S² is derived using the 2d-Clifford algebra. Spin in quantum mechanics represents a particle's intrinsic angular momentum and only permits certain quantized values. The Pauli Exclusion Principle dictates that no two electrons can have the same set of quantum numbers.

Step-by-step explanation:

A Killing spinor on a Riemannian spin manifold M satisfies the equation ∇_Xψ = λX ⋅ ψ for all tangent vectors X, where λ is a constant, the Killing number. In the special case where λ=0, the spinor is known as a parallel spinor. When considering the 2-sphere and the 2d-Clifford algebra, this equation can be reduced to ∇_μ ψ = ± 1 / 2 γ_μ ψ. To derive this, a particular representation of the Clifford algebra relevant to two dimensions is used, alongside properties specific to the geometry of .

In the context of quantum mechanics, spin is a fundamental property of particles such as electrons. The magnitude of the intrinsic spin angular momentum S of an electron is √s(s+1)ħ, with the spin quantum number s being 1/2 for electrons. The spin projection quantum number ms can be either +1/2 or -1/2, corresponding to 'spin up' and 'spin down' states, respectively.

The Pauli Exclusion Principle states that no two electrons can have the same set of quantum numbers, thereby prohibiting them from occupying the same quantum state. This principle is crucial to understanding a multitude of physical phenomena, including the structure of the periodic table and the behavior of electrons in atoms.

User Pal Singh
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