Deriving photon spin from relativistic quantum equations: Nonlocality of photon spin and relativistic quantum constraint

Abstract

The difficulties encountered up till now in the theory of identifying the spin and orbital angular momentum of the photon stem from the approach of dividing the angular momentum of the photon into spin and orbital parts. Here we derive the spin of the photon from a set of two relativistic quantum equations that was first cast from the free-space Maxwell equations by Darwin in 1932. Much attention is focused on the nonlocal properties of the photon spin that are determined by the relativistic quantum constraint, one of the so-called Darwin equations. Meanwhile, we point out that for the Darwin equations to describe the quantum motion of the photon, the upper and lower parts of the wavefunction cannot be the electric and magnetic fields as Darwin prescribed. Their nonlocal relations are investigated. The Lorentz covariance of the Darwin equations is also proven, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time.