Forms of relativistic dynamics

Abstract

For the purposes of atomic theory it is necessary to combine the restricted principle of relativity with the Hamiltonian formulation of dynamics. This combination leads to the appearance of ten fundamental quantities for each dynamical system, namely the total energy, the total momentum and the 6-vector which has three components equal to the total angular momentum. The usual form of dynamics expresses everything in terms of dynamical variables at one instant of time, which results in specially simple expressions for six or these ten, namely the components of momentum and of angular momentum. There are other forms for relativistic dynamics in which others of the ten are specially simple, corresponding to various sub-groups of the inhomogeneous Lorentz group. These forms are investigated and applied to a system of particles in interaction and to the electromagnetic field. © 1949 The American Physical Society.